Hedge End's Future - A Lib Dem Concrete Jungle (Part 1)

Countryside Doomed 

Huge Housing Estates and Road Gridlock are in store for Hedge End over the next twenty years as the Lib Dems bulldoze aside residents' concerns about the new Local Plan. 

Eastleigh Councillors have agreed by a whopping 37-5 majority to submit the latest version of the plan for a final consultation before it is submitted to a planning inspector for approval.  With a packed public gallery and presentations by residents of Hedge End, Bursledon, Botley and Eastleigh, all against the plan, the ruling Lib Dems turned their backs on local opposition and approved the third version of the plan.

What does it mean for Hedge End?

Above all, it means that Hedge End and Botley will be forced to accept more than their fair share of new housing, and will lose more than their fair share of green fields.

3487 houses out of a borough-wide total of 9613 (36%) will go up in Hedge End and Botley.  That compares with Hamble which will get only 80 houses, or less than one percent of the total.

If each household has two cars, each driving to and from work, that's another 14,000 daily car movements on our already overcrowded roads.  The Botley bypass and improvements to Woodhouse Lane are no longer required by the plan before the houses can be built.

A staggering 80% of the new housing in Hedge End and Botley will be on green field sites as our two parishes sacrifice more countryside than the rest of the Borough put together (2,800 houses on green fields here out of a total of 4,951).

.. and What does it mean for our neighbouring parishes?

Botley will see 1,400 houses built on the golf course at Boorley Green (policy B01) and 300 on fields between Winchester Street and the Railway line (policy B02).  The Botley bypass is no longer a prerequisite for these developments, but is reduced to a reserved "indicative" route (policy B03).  Restrictions are placed on any future development at Botley Mill (B04).

Bursledon will sacrifice green fields for 75 houses at Providence Hill (policy BU1), 155 north of the A27 and west of Blundell Lane (policy BU2) and 250 on the land east of Dodwell Land and north of Pylands Lane (policy BU3).   The added pressure from all the new housing in Botley and Hedge End will be too much for Sunday's Hill, and a new distributor road is proposed across green fields in policy BU4.  Boatyard expansion (policy BU5), restrictions on development in Old Bursledon (policy BU6) and provision of public open space (policy BU7) are also included.

In West End, green fields will go at Hatch Farm (80 houses, policy WE1) and Romill Close (60 houses, policy WE2).  Restrictions are placed on future change of use applications for the Chalcroft Distribution Park (policy WE3), criteria are defined for future sporting development at the Council's new asset, the Ageas (Rose) Bowl (policy WE4) and the door is opened for more commercial development at the Rose Bowl (policy WE5).  Land at the coach depot in Botley Road is allocated for housing (policy WE6).  Housing will be permitted on surplus land at Moorgreen Hospital (policy WE7).  Small scale residential development is proposed at Pinewood Park, Kanes Hill (policy WE8), and the Berrywood Business Park will be extended onto green fields off Tollbar Way.

Part Two of this blog will look at the Hedge End specific policies.

Consultation on the pre-submission draft starts on 17th August and goes on until 12th October, but don't expect the Lib Dems  to go out of their way to tell people.  The Council's web site still has the old, October 2011 version of the plan on its "Draft Local Plan Consultation" page, but the version agreed at Council can be found amongst the many papers presented to the special meeting of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Panel.

Lib Dem Broken Promise 2011

Lib Dem Broken Promise 2012