1,500 replies to new home plans (From Daily Echo)
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1,500 responses to Eastleigh Borough Council's local plan consultation
12:00pm Wednesday 11th January 2012 in Environment
1,500 replies to new home plans
HUNDREDS of people have had their say on plans to build thousands of homes on Hampshire countryside.
Eastleigh Borough Council says more than 1,500 responses have been received during a consultation on the draft local plan – a vision for how the area will develop over the next 18 years.
It includes possible locations for up to 9,400 homes across the borough, half of which could be built on greenfield sites.
Campaigns against building 1,400 homes nearly Boorley Green, at Botley Park Golf Course, and 1,300 at Stoneham Park, Eastleigh, have already been mobilised.
Opponents to the scheme in Boorley Green claim the plans will destroy their community and that the current infrastructure will be unable to shoulder the influx of new residents.
At Stoneham Park, there are fears that part of the green gap between Eastleigh and Southampton will be lost forever.
Land at Woodhouse Lane near Hedge End is also earmarked for up to 1,000 homes, and various other greenfield sites across the borough have been picked out for smaller developments.
Dozens of residents packed out a council meeting in October to appeal to councillors not to approve the draft local plan for consultation, but it was passed by a majority of 22 votes.
Information events held during the autumn across the borough attracted more than 1,300 people.
The council says it does not yet know many residents have responded to the consultation, as individuals could send multiple comments, but between 1,500 and 2,000 representations have been received.
Peter Ford from the Aviary Residents Association – which opposes plans to build at nearby Stoneham Park – said he was disappointed by the response.
He said: “We are still trying, but 1,500 people out of more than 100,000- odd that live in the borough is not a very good response – I think the council would be disappointed with that number.”
Council leader Keith House said: “It’s great to see so many local people commenting on the proposals in draft local plan.”
The council will consider the comments before the results are reported to the Cabinet with a revised version of the local plan in the summer.
Comments(4)
Danae
says...
12:42pm Wed 11 Jan 12
.
Hampshire 19,038
of which there are in the Districts of
Eastleigh 1,228
Winchester 1,268
Southampton 3,002
New Forest 2,018
Portsmouth 3,018
Fareham 947
Test Valley 927
.
Eastleigh have been asked how many of their 1,228 empty homes they can bring into use through their own entrepreneurial and pump-priming action over the next few years.
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Why build more houses just now on remote, awkward greenfield sites when we have so many unsold, or otherwise empty homes in the County already?
dango
says...
4:33pm Wed 11 Jan 12
The Salv wrote:I'm having trouble working out whether you are being sarcastic of if you really are just a selfish sh**?
Is there not hundreds of empty flats lying around that these people can move into.
.
Cant be destroying a perfectly good golf course for housing, where will I play my golf, it's the only decent course to play near me. Would mean more driving using up fossil fuels and increasing my carbon foot print. Dont ruin my golf and put these people into flats.
Scatgirl
says...
8:01pm Wed 11 Jan 12
The Salv says...
12:20pm Wed 11 Jan 12
.
Cant be destroying a perfectly good golf course for housing, where will I play my golf, it's the only decent course to play near me. Would mean more driving using up fossil fuels and increasing my carbon foot print. Dont ruin my golf and put these people into flats.