Eastleigh News, 20 May 2019: The newly elected councillor for West End South has told how he became ‘a little hot under the collar’ when heard of plans to ‘pave over vast swathes of the green belt’ in Oxfordshire. Liberal Democrat Tim Bearder who is both a West End parish councillor and a borough councillor for West End South also sits as a county councillor in Oxfordshire where he is opposed to South Oxfordshire District Council’s Local Plan. In an article published in the Oxford Times last month Councillor Bearder warned South Oxfordshire’s Local Plan would result in a ‘catastrophic level of construction.” ADD have accused him of “double standards” in supporting Eastleigh’s Local Plan while opposing the Local Plan in his home county.
Eastleigh MP Mims Davies urges constituents to respond after EBC are forced to re-consult on proposed Local Plan
Mims Davies MP, 16 May 2019: The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Mims Davies, has urged her constituents to make sure that their voice is heard over the local council’s delayed Local Plan after Eastleigh Borough Council were forced into launching a new six-week consultation on over forty sites proposed for development across the Borough within the proposed Local Plan. The consultation comes after Eastleigh Borough Council was reprimanded by the Independent Planning Inspectorate in March for failing to properly consult on the proposed sites. The new consultation has already faced criticism after residents were unable to complete the consultation online, while the form on the website provided no details of where it should be sent once completed.
Eastleigh’s council fails to notify Bishopstoke parish of planning applications – parish chair declares: ‘We are not impressed’
Eastleigh News, 16 May 2019: Bishopstoke Parish Council have complained that Eastleigh Borough Council have failed to send them notifications of planning applications in the parish. At last night’s meeting of Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area Committee the chair of Bishopstoke Parish Council – Councillor Sue Toher (pictured) – addressed the local area borough councillors on behalf of the Bishopstoke Parish Planning Committee. Cllr Toher told the committee that since last July there had been seven instances when the Parish Council had either not received a notification or else they had received notifications for Fair Oak Parish council rather than Bishopstoke – in one case she said, they had received an application eight days after the closing date.
Why Eastleigh’s Local Plan is bad for the planet
ADD UPDATE, 9 May 2019: We have no right to complain about other countries destroying their environment when we are planning to do the same here in Eastleigh through the council’s proposed Local Plan…
A report published on Monday from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (IPBES), an agency of the United Nations, warns that one million animal and plant species across the world are now threatened with extinction. The report has taken three years to compile and draws on 15,000 reference materials.
From the bees that pollinate our crops to the forests that hold back flood waters, the key factor in the threat to the natural world is human activity ravaging the very ecosystems that support human society.
The destruction of rain forests (between 1980 and 2000, 100 million hectares of tropical rain forest have been cleared to make way for cattle and palm oil plantations), the expansion of cities (the world’s population has doubled since 1970) and the pollution of our seas (remember the plastic in David Attenborough’s film?) are combining to destroy the habitats of plants and creatures at all levels.
What has this got to do with the Eastleigh Local Plan? Well, we may not be able to do a lot on the global stage – but we can prevent the wanton destruction of our local environment and biodiversity. The massive housing development proposed by Eastleigh Borough Council in their draft Local Plan, which includes 2,000 more houses than actually required by government targets, would obliterate some of the most attractive landscape in the borough, ravage several areas of precious ancient woodland and cause havoc with the eco-systems of the River Itchen. And, like the destruction in other faraway parts of the world, it is being driven by human self-interest, politics and greed.
There may be a need for additional low-cost housing in and around Eastleigh, but this plan does not actually provide it. There are other options available to Eastleigh Borough Council, which it has not even seriously considered.
The proposed site is located in an area that the council’s own research has identified as having the greatest biodiversity in the borough. And the Plan’s out-of-town location away from public transport could have been calculated to maximise car usage and so carbon dioxide emissions. All this from a council that boasts it is tackling climate change.
Although we might not be able to save the rainforests of South America and the wetlands of Africa, we can at least prevent the wanton extinction of our own ecosystems here in South Hampshire, by insisting that the authority comes up with a better, more eco-friendly Local Plan.
(The image accompanying this article is of a White Admiral butterfly in Upper Barn Copse, one of the ancient woodlands that Eastleigh’s Local Plan severely threatens, and would ultimately destroy.)
How Eastleigh’s Local Plan threatens one of the borough’s finest heritage assets
ADD UPDATE, 7 May 2019: Allbrook hosts one of Eastleigh’s most valuable heritage assets, but little has been done to promote its awareness. Now the council’s Local Plan threatens to degrade it further.
Allbrook Farmhouse was less than ten years old when artist Mary Beale and her husband Charles moved there in 1665 to escape the Great Plague in London. Unusually, it was Mary who earned the family’s living, from her portrait painting, while Charles supported her by managing the studio. This relationship is reflected in Mary’s ‘Essay on Friendship’, promoting equality of the sexes, also written in Allbrook.
Her self-portrait, now in the National Portrait Gallery, was painted there and it is likely that many of her sitters’ portraits were painted there too. Quite possibly they included some fairly notable people of that era. We know that Izaak Walton, friend of the poet John Donne and author of ‘The Compleat Angler’, visited her at Allbrook. The rare survival of this location where Mary Beale lived and worked adds a further historical significance to Allbrook Farmhouse well beyond that of comparable Grade II listed buildings in the Eastleigh district. Yet oddly, to the casual passer-by, it is just another old building.
History has not been kind to Mary’s former home. The Itchen Navigation, and later the railway embankment, were built within metres of it. Various alterations, neglect and the 20th century theft of its entrance door have detracted from its original appearance. In 1995 it escaped being turned into a pub restaurant. The 2008 Planning Inquiry saw opposition from, among others, Sir Roy Strong and Tracey Emin but, despite the claim that Allbrook Farmhouse was the only known artist’s studio from the 17th century still existing in Britain, its immediate environment was further drastically altered. The old farmhouse is now hemmed in by a new housing estate hard up against the property. The house itself was renovated and refurbished. Whether the racking where Mary dried her canvases survived these renovations is uncertain.
The latest affront to this unique piece of Britain’s artistic heritage is the proposed building of the North Bishopstoke Link Road in Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan. This road scheme would involve closing off Allbrook Hill at the bottom and re-routing traffic behind the existing houses along a new road leading to Junction 12 on the M3.
Originally conceived with a roundabout junction with Pitmore Road, it now proposes a tee junction. It appears that without the roundabout to slow it down, more and faster traffic from the motorway will then flow into the narrower section past Allbrook Farmhouse and require new signage and physical protection for the under-sized Allbrook railway bridge.
Despite this, the legal requirement for an assessment of the impact on the setting of this listed building appears to have been ignored. Yet, similar to paragraph 129 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), Eastleigh’s Local Plan policy DM12 states that development within the setting of a heritage asset will only be permitted where “it does not harm or detract from the significance or special interest of the asset, and sustains and enhances its special character and qualities. The more important the asset, the greater the weight that should be accorded to this criterion.” It is hard to see how this can have been adhered to here if the ‘significance’, ‘special interest’ and ‘importance’ have not been assessed. Meanwhile the Local Plan seems almost deliberately to make no mention at all about Mary Beale.
Although its historical connection with her makes this Grade II listed building a particularly important part of Eastleigh’s heritage, this has been completely ignored by the council. While Eastleigh hosts a blue plaque in honour of comedian Benny Hill, and even a plaque to the somewhat obscure Noel Croucher, founding chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the presence here of the pioneering 17th century artist and feminist, Mary Beale, has had no such recognition.
At a time when women like Mary Beale are seen as forerunners for the feminist movement, this is a regrettable but perhaps not unintentional omission, given the implications the current Local Plan has for her old home.
Of the eleven published Grade II listed buildings of the same period as Allbrook Farmhouse located in the Eastleigh District, only Allbrook Farmhouse has its associated history included as a specific reason for it being listed. It is doubtful if any other listed buildings in the Borough, of any period, are of such importance artistically and culturally as Allbrook Farmhouse.
Most councils would be proud of this asset, but not, it seems, Eastleigh.
Steve Brine MP writes to Winchester City Council on Eastleigh Local Plan
Steve Brine MP, 6 May 2019: Winchester & Chandler’s Ford MP Steve Brine has written to the likely new leader of Winchester City Council in the aftermath of last week’s local election results. Cllr Lucille Thompson is expected to form a new Liberal Democrat administration and the MP says he is keen to get early clarification about their approach to Eastleigh Borough Council’s controversial Local Plan process.
Mr Brine says: “There are grave concerns among many people about the impact of Eastleigh’s Local Plan on the communities I represent. They rightly want to know whether the now Lib Dem led Winchester will stand up to Lib Dem Eastleigh on behalf of our district or change the position held by the previous council leader.”
Winchester City Council election, 2 May: Max Priesemann, Green candidate for Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery on Winchester City Council, writes…
ADD UPDATE, 28 April 2019: Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 2 May, Action against Destructive Development (ADD) has invited each candidate standing for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), and each candidate standing for Winchester City Council, to supply us with up to 350 words on their views on EBC’s draft Local Plan and its progress. The same invitation was extended to candidates in the parish/town council elections in our area.
As you will be aware, EBC voted to include ‘options B and C’ in its Local Plan, namely proposals for around 5,500 houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Allbrook and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham, significantly affecting Boyatt Wood, Chandler’s Ford, Hiltingbury, Otterbourne, Brambridge, Highbridge, Twyford and Bishop’s Waltham. This draft Plan will be examined by an independent planning inspector later this year.
As part of our virtual hustings, Max Priesemann, Green candidate for Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery on Winchester City Council, has sent us the following message:
“I have opposed Eastleigh’s plans since I became aware of them two years ago. I am especially against the proposed options B and C which would cause a substantial increase in traffic that itself will result in increased pollution and congestion in a wide area, including Otterbourne and other parts of the Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery ward. This is understandably of great concern to residents in villages between Eastleigh and Winchester. Any council that acts against the result of its own consultations should lose its legitimacy.
Valuable ancient woodlands and their surrounding ecosystems should be preserved for wildlife and local communities. We need more woodland to absorb CO2 and fewer cars (and aviation) to contain climate change. Affordable housing is required for locals, but it needs to be planned sustainably. Our green belt must be protected especially while we could make use of brownfield sites.
Our towns and villages should be transformed to reduce the need for traffic by organising a flexible, frequently run, convenient and affordable public transport network. Focus on building routes for alternative forms of traffic instead of roads for cars. Build a tram network, encourage cycling and the use of small electrical vehicles like scooters etc. Cars waste a vast amount of space that can’t be used otherwise. (The airport wastes huge amounts of land too.) These areas could be greened into parks or indeed used for new social housing.
Our current housing crisis is due to lack of affordable housing not total number of houses. A land value tax would help to bring about this change. Large unused properties would have to pay more compared with smaller houses that could become more affordable instead.
Finally, covering up green spaces in and around our towns and villages will increase the risk of flooding. This is especially important as we will have to get used to more extreme weather events due to climate change that has already started and will accelerate if we carry on in the same way as we have done until now.”
Max Priesemann, Green candidate for Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery on Winchester City Council
Local elections, 2 May: EBC and WCC respondents so far to ADD’s virtual hustings – what have your candidates said?
ADD UPDATE, 28 April 2019: Ahead of the local elections this Thursday 2 May, Action against Destructive Development (ADD) invited each candidate standing for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), and each candidate standing for Winchester City Council (WCC), to supply us with up to 350 words on their views on EBC’s draft Local Plan and its progress.
With five days to go until the elections, 16 candidates have replied. We thank them for doing so. Significantly, several key candidates have yet to respond and not a single candidate has so far been willing to publicly support Eastleigh’s Local Plan…
What have your candidates said?
In summary, 11 out of the 64 EBC candidates have responded. They, together with their statements, are as follows:
DEAN Ray, Independent candidate for Bishopstoke
MCKEONE Christine, Labour candidate for Bishopstoke
PARKINSON-SHANLEY Phillip, Conservative candidate for Bishopstoke
NEWCOMBE Daniel, Conservative candidate for Chandler’s Ford
OPENSHAW Paul, Green candidate for Chandler’s Ford
CONSTABLE Josh, Labour candidate for Eastleigh Central
BETTS David, Independent candidate for Eastleigh North
CLARK Gordon, Labour candidate for Eastleigh South
BROOMFIELD Steven, Conservative candidate for Fair Oak and Horton Heath
OPENSHAW Janice, Green candidate for Hiltingbury
WEEKS Tracy, Green candidate for West End South
Five WCC candidates have also replied. They are:
WARWICK Janet, Conservative candidate for Badgers Farm and Oliver’s Battery
WILLIAMS Hannah, Liberal Democrat candidate for Badgers Farm and Oliver’s Battery
BRONK Tony, Liberal Democrat candidate for Colden Common and Twyford
LAI Andy, Conservative candidate for Colden Common and Twyford
LUMBY Hugh, Conservative candidate for Upper Meon Valley
For the sake of completeness, we have listed below ALL candidates for EBC and WCC, together with whether they have responded. Candidates who have not yet done so, and would like to, can send their statements to [email protected].
Thanks to everyone for your interest in these virtual hustings. Don’t forget to vote on Thursday!
CANDIDATES FOR EASTLEIGH BOROUGH COUNCIL
Bishopstoke
EDWARDS John, Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
MCKEONE Christine, Labour Party – REPLY
MIGNOT Trevor, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
PARKINSON-SHANLEY Phillip, Conservative Party – REPLY
Bursledon & Hound North
CHILTON Pete, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
MOODY Lisa, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
RICH Jane, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
WELLER Jan, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
Chandler`s Ford
GROVES Tim, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
HOUSE Pete, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
NEWCOMBE Daniel, Conservative Party – REPLY
OPENSHAW Paul, Green Party – REPLY
PRIOR Jenni, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Eastleigh Central
ARNOLD Nick, Conservative Party– NO RESPONSE
CONSTABLE Josh, Labour Party – REPLY
DOGUIE Jephthe, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
MOORE Andy, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
TANN Nick, Green Party– NO RESPONSE
Eastleigh North
BETTS David, Independent – REPLY
HUGHES Alexander, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
O`NEILL Kathy, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
PAYNE Simon, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
SMITH John, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
TYSON-PAYNE Sara, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
Eastleigh South
BRYAN Glenn, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
CLARK Gordon, Labour Party – REPLY
MANN Darshan, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
WILDIN Steve, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
Fair Oak & Horton Heath
BROOMFIELD Steven, Conservative Party – REPLY
LYON Martin, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
MARSH Michelle, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
PAYNE Jill, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
STAPLETON Jack, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
Hamble & Netley
FOX Jeanette, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
MANNING Adam, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
ROBSON Sue, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
WHITE Trudi, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
WHITEHOUSE Andy, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
Hedge End North
ALLEN James, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
BUDD Geoff, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
CAMPBELL Rosanna, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
CORBEN Ian, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
TOMLIN John, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
Hedge End
GARTON Cynthia, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
GREENWOOD Chetana, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
JONES Benjamin, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
LAYLAND Betty Lou, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
YATES Chris, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
Hiltingbury
DUGUID James, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
HUGHES Michael, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
LEECH Jean, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
OPENSHAW Janice, Green Party – REPLY
PRIOR John, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
West End North
BURCOMBE-FILER Ben, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
FLEMING Glynn, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
GOMER Richard, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
KOSTED Geoff, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
MCGUINNESS Hugh, Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
West End South
BEARDER Tim, Liberal Democrat – NO RESPONSE
GREENWOOD Chris, UK Independence Party (UKIP) – NO RESPONSE
HALL Jerry, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
WEEKS Tracy, Green Party – REPLY
WILLOUGHBY Steve, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
CANDIDATES FOR WINCHESTER CITY COUNCIL
Alresford & Itchen Valley
BORGES Karl, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
GORD-SMITH Russell, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
SAUNDERS Annie, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
WIGHT Ian, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Badger Farm and Oliver’s Battery
DOLBY Neil, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
PRIESEMANN Max, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
WARWICK Janet, Conservative Party – REPLY
WILLIAMS Hannah, Liberal Democrats – REPLY
Bishops Waltham
GOODING Sarah, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
HAINES Steve, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
MCLEAN David, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
WILLIAMS Jonathan, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
Central Meon Valley
CAMPBELL Sheila, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
HARPUM Christopher, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
NORMAN Mik, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
WESTON Vicki, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
Colden Common and Twyford
BRONK Tony, Liberal Democrats – REPLY
BROWN Paul, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
GRAHAM Lucinda, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
LAI Andy, Conservative Party – REPLY
Denmead
CLEMENTSON Judy, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
GODWIN Jude, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
PARKER Robert, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
PICTON-JONES David, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Southwick and Wickham
EVANS Therese, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
RAPPE Lorraine, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
SONY Paul, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
St Barnabus
BERRY Eileen, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
CRASKE Mike, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
FIELD Adrian, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
PERROTT Mike, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
St Bartholomew
ADAMS Andrew, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
BURNS Rose, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
FERGUSON Paula, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
SKELTON Teresa, Justice and Anti-Corruption Party – NO RESPONSE
WALKER-NIX Dave, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
St Luke
DAVIES Patrick, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
GOODING Giles, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
GREEN Derek, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
TAIT Ian, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
St Michael
ASHTON Guy, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
ELLIS Gavin, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
GOTTLIEB Kim, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
HALLMANN Julia, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
St Paul
BARRATT Karen, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
SIMONS David, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
TOD Martin, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
WAINWRIGHT Andrew, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
The Worthys
BIDDLE Signe, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
HARLEY Charlotte, Green Party – NO RESPONSE
RUTTER Jane, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
VALENTINE Tessa, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Upper Meon Valley
KERSHAW June, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
LUMBY Hugh, Conservative Party – REPLY
North Lewis, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
Whiteley and Shedfield
FERN Jonathan, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
HUXSTEP Roger, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
RIDLEY Alison, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Wonston and Micheldever
GORDON Ian, Liberal Democrats – NO RESPONSE
HORRILL Caroline, Conservative Party – NO RESPONSE
WILKINSON Jude, Labour Party – NO RESPONSE
Winchester City Council election, 2 May: Hugh Lumby, Conservative candidate for Upper Meon Valley on Winchester City Council, writes…
ADD UPDATE, 27 April 2019: Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 2 May, Action against Destructive Development (ADD) has invited each candidate standing for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), and each candidate standing for Winchester City Council, to supply us with up to 350 words on their views on EBC’s draft Local Plan and its progress. The same invitation was extended to candidates in the parish/town council elections in our area.
As you will be aware, EBC voted to include ‘options B and C’ in its Local Plan, namely proposals for around 5,500 houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Allbrook and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham, significantly affecting Boyatt Wood, Chandler’s Ford, Hiltingbury, Otterbourne, Brambridge, Highbridge, Twyford and Bishop’s Waltham. This draft Plan will be examined by an independent planning inspector later this year.
As part of our virtual hustings, Hugh Lumby, Conservative candidate for Upper Meon Valley on Winchester City Council has sent us the following message:
“I represent the Upper Meon Valley ward on Winchester City Council. The ward directly adjoins Eastleigh Borough Council and the area proposed for the development, especially the parishes of Upham and Owslebury.
Residents are rightly concerned about the scale and impact of this development. They live with the South Downs National Park [SDNP] in an area of stunning beauty. The SDNP has an aim to promote the tranquillity of the area. Placing 5,000 plus homes in open countryside next to their communities will endanger that tranquillity. It will destroy open land, hurting the environment.
It will put increased traffic on our roads. These are narrow lanes, often not wide for cars to pass easily. This increased traffic will disturb the villages and outlying communities. And it will endanger residents as the roads often do not have pavements. This is the case in both Owslebury and Upham. Increased traffic causes noise and fume pollution in addition.
There are also concerns about the extra pressure on our infrastructure and services and questions as to where these people will be working.
We therefore strongly oppose Eastleigh Borough Council’s proposed Local Plan.”
Hugh Lumby, Conservative candidate for Upper Meon Valley on Winchester City Council
Eastleigh Borough Council election, 2 May: Gordon Clark, Labour candidate for Eastleigh South on Eastleigh Borough Council, writes…
ADD UPDATE, 26 April 2019: Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 2 May, Action against Destructive Development (ADD) has invited each candidate standing for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), and each candidate standing for Winchester City Council, to supply us with up to 350 words on their views on EBC’s draft Local Plan and its progress. The same invitation was extended to candidates in the parish/town council elections in our area.
As you will be aware, EBC voted to include ‘options B and C’ in its Local Plan, namely proposals for around 5,500 houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Allbrook and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham, significantly affecting Boyatt Wood, Chandler’s Ford, Hiltingbury, Otterbourne, Brambridge, Highbridge, Twyford and Bishop’s Waltham. This draft Plan will be examined by an independent planning inspector later this year.
As part of our virtual hustings, Gordon Clark, Labour candidate for Eastleigh South on Eastleigh Borough Council, has sent us the following message:
“We can’t escape the need to build new homes for the growing population of Eastleigh and its surrounding areas, but the proposals put forward by Eastleigh Borough Council do not take into consideration the impact it will have on our environment. The number of dwellings proposed will add too much traffic to our already strained roads and tip our air quality into unacceptable levels. The council’s report on air quality from 2018 warned that the area couldn’t cope with more than 2,000 new homes in the area and this proposal is for more than 5,000. It’s not just the increase in private cars, but the extra lorries supplying more goods to shops and supermarkets. Our water and sewage systems will also be strained as will our schools and doctors’ surgeries.
The majority of these houses won’t even be affordable for Eastleigh residents in need of their own home. They will however be attractive to people working in London who wish to live in our green and pleasant borough and commute daily, adding more misery to the people already suffering jam packed trains every day. What we really need are zero carbon council houses and flats, close enough to Eastleigh town centre, with good public transport links and green parks with safe play areas for children.
I’m no planning expert, but even I can see the many flaws in the council’s proposals and it’s time the residents of Eastleigh were properly consulted about plans that will affect them and their children in the future.
If I’m elected I will be a small cog in a large Lib Dem controlled council, but I will have the backing of the Labour Party behind me, with all their expertise on housing and environmental issues. I will work to ensure any future plans do not have a negative impact on our beautiful region and any housing plans address the needs of the residents already living in the Eastleigh borough.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and please don’t forget to vote on 2 May. This is all about our quality of life.”
Gordon Clark, Labour candidate for Eastleigh South on Eastleigh Borough Council
