Don't build on our park! (From Daily Echo)

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  ohec wrote:
  

  richieroo wrote:

  ohec wrote: What a shame that people have to be so selfish and that is what it all boils down too,the not in my back yard or the thats where i walk my dog and so on, and these people are so ashamed of their own feelings they then try to conceal the fact by talking about boundaries or some other rubbish. The fact that these houses are desperately needed is neither here nor there as long as the protesters already have a nice house, the fact that no councillors turned up say's it all as long as you sit ON the fence you can't get into any trouble.

  Well ohec I went on the protest walk that day & I'm not ashamed of my feelings about it & yes I do have a very nice house thank you; that I own by saving for in excess of ten years to get a big enough deposit to be able to buy, rather than sitting on my backside expecting to be given one on a plate as some feel they are entitled to!. The problem I have with this plan is the fact that another 1300 MINIMUM houses in the Chestnut Ave /Stoneham Lane area means probably another 2600 cars on the two roads I've mentioned which are already at a standstill most days due to the sheer volume of vehicles trying to get in / out of Eastleigh, C Ford etc etc towards the M27 or Soton via them. The 'share your car half this queue' signs erected by the council tell their own story. & the fact that Soton, E/Leigh & Test Valley will develop this area as several smaller sites means they don't have to invest in the infrastructure as they would if it was one huge development which it will end up as sprawling both sides of the M27 eventually. I'm all for development if it's well thought out & done properly... but these roads wont get upgraded or improved & will only get worse. & as for desperately needed housing only a tiny percentage will end up as social housing so will hardly improve the situation for those who can't afford to buy as I've been lucky enough to do so. We have plenty of empty office blocks in the town that could be converted with a little thought & probably less of a carbon footprint than 1300 new builds & Hamble airfield is also another option within E/Leigh, but I'm sure we'll end up with the houses built here anyhow... it would probably be a different story if any of the councillors actually lived near here lol!.

  Well hands up to you for having the guts to admit you are a nimby, but i have enough faith in our planning system to ensure that adequate provision is made with regard to infrastructure, if you are so worried about carbon footprints sell you car and get a bike then you won't have to queue in the traffic. I am sorry but your argument doesn't stack up its not just a case of whether its social housing or not we need both and as for your suggestion of converting offices into flats i don't think you would buy one or are you suggesting they would be good enough for social housing only. As you point out you have purchased your home so you always have the option to sell and move elsewhere.

  I disagree in your faith in the planning system when the Pirelli site is known locally as 'little Beiruit' amongst other names, none of them flattering & I have a friend on the as yet unfinished Lakeside development who has referred to it variously as like the Chatsworth estate on Shameless or at times like Brands Hatch. I myself live in a development where a little further down the road from me on one side of the road the houses have one parking space & across the road two spaces, same houses different parking needs, who decided that one?. One of the fields on this proposed site recently had planning permission refused for a school & one of the reasons apparently was it couldn't be build there due to its proximity to a 43" gas pipe that runs across the site... far too dangerous to site a school over it & yet now the same field can have 300 houses on it!?!.
  
  I agree that we need both private & social housing, but to keep building new homes on farmland as a large chunk of this site is, is madness. Where in 50 -100 years will we grow crops & animals to feed our ever increasing population if we keep covering all the farmland available with housing?.
  
  Also as I'm sure you've seen there are thousands of empty properties across the country we should be doing more to get them back into use especially the ones that were emptied by the last government for redevelopment that never happened. We also had here until very recently a three bed house locally that sat empty & boarded up for in excess of five years (anyone whose driven on Nightingale Ave will know the house I mean) which it turns out was housing association stock, so if we're so desperate for social housing how can we leave a decent sized 1930's property empty so long?. Just keep on building is a very lazy & easy option to take.
  
  As for my carbon footprint when I worked locally to E/Leigh rather than the other side of the forest as I do now, I did prefer to use my bike as it had the benefits of getting exercise into my day & was actually quicker than taking the car right across town too, which as you're right a few more of us should take heed of getting on our bikes for commutes on sunny days, as most people probably wouldn't ride in the rain or snow or work too far to commute comfortably by bike anyhow. I have looked at properties that have been converted from industrial / office space before buying my house & they were actually all very large & spacious & if they had had the secure parking for my car / bike I would've snapped one up but lack of parking was their main drawback if you're a private or a social housing resident that would affect you unfortunately, but it's still an option I wouldn't rule out if my situation changed or as a short term emergency social housing option either, why let decent buildings sit idle if they are suitable for conversion?. I could move like you suggest & a few people seem to be from the increasing number of estate agent boards appearing in the area, but one of the major attractions for me was being on the edge of town with playing fields, farmland & parks on my doorstep. The same parkland that only a few years ago the council agreed NOT to build on & wanted to restore to its former glory as it was a Capability Brown designed landscape & too valuable to lose. It will be a shame to see all the football pitches, cricket grounds, golf ranges & park / farmland go from this area & it will be built on at some point but at least we live in a country where we can voice our opinions & say I don't or do like whats happening."
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