Green Fields: Further Lib Dem Raids

More Habitat Loss 

Not enough provision was made in the Borough Council's Draft Local Plan for business and industrial areas to provide employment in the Hedge End area.   The Lib Dems cannot claim that their thousands of new houses on green fields are "sustainable" if people have to drive miles to get to work in either Eastleigh Town, Southampton or further afield.

More Concrete and Tarmac

Their solution is for more open spaces, gardens and trees to disappear under concrete and tarmac, when they have promised in the last two local elections to "save our countryside" and "say no to more building and traffic".  Green fields next to the Berrywood Business Village off Tollbar Way will go, as will fields and gardens in Woodhouse Lane and the undeveloped grounds of properties off Kanes Hill.

More Fields Lost at Tollbar Way

Berrywood Business Village

The business village in Tollbar Way will be extended to the south east, sacrificing a green field between the existing buildings and the road.  Hedge End Blogger feared back in August last year that this field was amongst those targeted by the Lib Dems for business development.  At the time I was accused by leading Lib Dems of NIMBY scare-mongering.

Kanes Hill

Lib Dem proposals for land between the motorway and the A27 Kanes Hill to the north of Netley Firs Close will sacrifice mature trees for an industrial or business park. 

Hedge End Town Council have been told by Hampshire County Council that their outline plan for a new cemetery in fields just to the north of this location would require major highway changes, including a dedicated turn right lane and traffic islands, costing in excess of a quarter of a million pounds.

Presumably an industrial park on the same road would generate the same requirement for highway works, but there is no indication in the Borough plan as to where this money would come from.  Perhaps the leader of Eastleigh Borough Council is looking for another expensive fight with the leader of Hampshire County Council.

Threatened Fields next to Bottom Copse

Woodhouse Lane

Bottom Copse is a Site of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINC) that recently transferred ownership from the Borough to the Town Council.  New Lib Dem proposals would replace the fields and large gardens which border the SINC with yet another industrial or business park.  Development right up to the border of the SINC would come with a risk of pollution or other disruption, would certainly change the nature of the SINC and affect its attractiveness to large mammals and birds of prey.

Where Will Horses Graze When This is Tarmac?

It was clear when the draft plan was published that insufficient provision had been made for employment opportunities.  The Lib Dems were not honest last summer and now these additional plans are being sneaked through after the consultation on the main document. 

See also: Wildern Mill:  Lib Dems Change Their Minds

Link to cabinet report (see pages 31-35)

What are the permitted "Use Classes"?

Planners and Councillors have a tendency to hide behind jargon and codes when it suits them, so I have translated the use classes in these extracts from the cabinet report:

Berrywood Business Village:  "The site is developed for employment in use classes B1b (Research and development, studios, laboratories, high technology), B1c (Light Industry) and B2 (General Industry) ...."

Kanes Hill:  "The site is developed for employment in use classes B1b (Research and development, studios, laboratories, high technology), B1c (Light Industry) or B2 (General Industry) ...."

Woodhouse Lane:  "The site is developed for employment in use classes B1a (Offices, excluding Banks, Building societies, estate and employment agencies, Professional and Financial Services and betting offices), B1b (Research and development, studios, laboratories, high technology) or B1c (Light Industry) ...."

Wildern Mill:  "The site is developed for employment in Use Classes B1b (Research and development, studios, laboratories, high technology), B1c (Light Industry), B2 (General Industry) or B8 (Wholesale warehouses, distribution centres, repositories)..."

Lib Dems Failing to Save the Countryside 

Lib Dems Saying Yes to More Building and Traffic