Parish Newsletter March 2006

2,500 New Houses for Romsey Extra?

Could the future mean 2,500 new homes in Romsey Extra? Well, yes it could. Under the Proposed Modifications to the Borough Local Plan there is now support for 800 new homes on Chivers Field as reserve housing up to 2011.

There is a good chance that the reserve housing will not be needed before 2011. This would mean, however, that the 800 would become part of the 2,500 new homes required in South Hampshire up to 2026 as part of the South East Plan. What this effectively means is that sites for a further 1,700 new homes will have to be found.

Whilst there are six parishes in South Hampshire, Romsey Extra's rural nature makes it a strong contender for many of these 1,700 new homes. The further risk is that when these figures are put to Government later this year, they insist on even higher figures. Romsey Extra would be very vulnerable if that happens.

See Page 3 for more details on this.

The "Look at Romsey" project in the two Romsey Extra areas of Woodley & Ganger and Crampmoor & Highwood is now well advanced. Questionnaires were returned by the middle of last month and this month saw exhibitions for both areas where the responses were displayed and note taken of further comments.

Now the findings are being compiled into design statements. These will be used to guide planners and councillors about future planning applications.

In the last newsletter we asked for views on siting a parish seat in Campion Drive. The responses we received were all against such a proposal. The grounds for objection were the likely nuisance of unruly groups congregating in the area. We had no responses in support. Wishing only to provide facilities wanted by parishioners, we will not proceed on this.

We have similarly ruled out a site in Crampmoor Lane. We are looking for other sites that might be better received.

To be held at Woodley Village Hall on Wednesday 26th April 2006 at 7.30 pm.

Our speaker this year is Inspector Funnell, who will talk about "Policing Issues" in Romsey. As before the Chairman will present the Annual Report and there will be time for you to raise your views and ask questions.

The evening will aim to close about 9 pm when there will be refreshments and time for you to talk to us informally .

The Inquiry into the appeal against the refusal to grant consent for recycling facilities at Ridge Quarry, Ridge Lane was held on 28th Feb 2006 and the next day.

We strongly support the County Council's decision to refuse permission having made formal representations when the application was originally heard in November 2004. The quarry site should be fully restored as originally planned.

We now await the Inspector's decision on the appeal.

The period since Christmas has been in some respects a quiet one. Certainly for my wife and I, this is true after the many events we were invited to pre-Christmas.

Last month, we were delighted to attend the opening of the enlarged and refurbished Romsey Rapids. The facilities there now are something to be seen and they certainly offer much for the family. The pay-as-you-go option does, undoubtedly, make it a very useful facility for casual use by locals as well as offering entertainment for visitors to the area.

The Look at Romsey project is something which we very much support and I and other councillors have given practical help and assistance to the two areas wholly in the parish. When the findings are summarised in the design statements, I am sure there will be points there that we, as a parish council, will need to think about . The whole exercise has been very worthwhile.

From a strictly business point of view, it is certainly the present moves on planning and development in the parish that are the most important items. More detail is given under "Planning Issues". I do hope you will give us your views on this.

The Council meets at 7.15pm in the council chamber at the TVBC Offices, Duttons Road, Romsey. You are always welcome to attend and there is a short section at the start of each meeting which is set aside for public participation.

The dates of our next 6 meetings are:

13th April 11th May

8th June 13th July

10th August 14th September

Our Annual Parish Assembly is at 7.30 pm on 26th April at Woodley Village Hall.

Anxious to keep expenditure under a tight rein, the budget for the next financial starting in April has been lowered from the £24,617 figure of this year to £23,480.

Since there is a reasonable balance in the parish account, we have decided that a precept figure lower than the budget spend will again be workable. A precept of £22,000 for the financial year starting in April has been agreed. This is £1,000 higher than the current year but is the first increase for three years.

Over the next few years it is planned to bring the budget spend and precept into balance by keeping a tight control on the budget . Any increases in the precept that we do have to apply can then be kept to a minimum.

Just a reminder that if you want to see up to date news then please do look at our website. Our newsletter is only issued quarterly but the website is updated as the news changes.

Under the ‘Local Council' tab you can also see the planning applications we will be considering at our next meeting as well as the agendas and minutes of our meetings.

Professionally, I am in the IT business, working for a large London-based company but have lived in the Romsey area since 1973. I moved here as a bachelor, married and now have a grown up family. Both my children attended the local schools.

My involvement with local initiatives started when I helped found the Montfort Hall Community Association. The local council had identified a plot of land for a community hall as part of planning permission to develop the land at Montfort College. Together with many other local residents I was determined that it should be built. After many years of planning and fund-raising, the Hall was eventually opened in 1992.

It was through the Community Association that I became aware of Romsey Extra Parish Council and the work that it did. In 1986 I was invited to join to fill a vacancy and I have been a member ever since. During that time I have served five terms as Chairman and for 4 years I was also our Borough Councillor.

Although I have been involved in all aspects of the parish, my main interest has always been planning. Apart from putting the parish perspective on individual planning applications I have been actively involved in many strategic matters and planning appeals. I have often been the Council's spokesman at planning inquiries, a daunting business when cross-examined by a QC.

Living in a rural parish presents challenges. We want to protect what we have but we must also provide homes, not least for our local children. We want new facilities but not over development. We need to work with our neighbouring parishes but we want to retain our own identity. Our challenge, as a council, is to continue to meet that delicate balance despite the pressures that the future may bring.

My father was a local government officer and my mother a school secretary in Somerset where I grew up. I was a social worker for ten years in London before starting a family and moving to Eastleigh for six years and then to Romsey in 1986. So being involved in the community has always felt like a natural obligation! I became a parish councillor in 1989.

The years have flown by living in Shootash. Tending the garden and bringing up the kids, until nearly three years ago with my late husband Dave, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Currently our older daughter Kate and her husband James live with me, along with my four and their two cats and a declining shoal of tropical fish.

I have always loved the countryside so no surprise that for the first ten or so years of being on the parish council I was footpaths rep. Living off the beaten track with young people needing transport was inspiration for the same number of years as public transport rep. Currently I'm the parish rep on Squabb Wood Liaison Panel.

I was lucky enough to be Chairman of the Parish Council from May 97-98 and I am proud that this was the year when we got the footpath along Highwood Lane, from Halterworth to Stroud built.

Parish Councils like ours can't often do huge dramatic things, but I do believe they can make life a lot pleasanter by enhancing our green spaces, installing footpaths, lights, benches, trees and pump-priming grander projects. We are also a well-informed local voice there to represent everyone on planning matters and when much valued facilities like our hospital are threatened.

                    Chivers Field, Abbotswood

We had serious concerns about certain of the modifications to the Local Plan proposed by the Borough Council. These modifications were in response to Part 1 of the Inspector's Report following the Public Inquiry which ended in March 2005. Last month, we contributed to the Borough's consultation on these modifications.

From a parish point of view, our major concerns were about the development of Chivers Field, Abbotswood. There were 3 main modifications proposed by the Borough. These were to:

Increase the allocation of new dwellings from 500 to 800.

Require the overhead power cable crossing the site to be placed underground where it would otherwise lie above dwellings or their curtilages unless there are overriding constraints.

Provide the primary access to the site from a new junction in Braishfield Road. The secondary access to the site will be provided from a new junction in Sandy Lane.

On the first point, it appears the increase in the number of new dwellings is to meet the arbitrary housing reserve provision of the Plan on one single site without the need to look for other sites. We consider it inappropriate to develop Chivers Field at the very high density necessary to take the 800 dwellings. It is an edge of town site bordering low density mature housing. We therefore recommended that the allocation should remain at 500 with the balance of the reserve housing being found elsewhere.

We welcomed the decision to include a requirement for the overhead power cable to be placed underground. This was a view we put forward at the Public Inquiry. We were, however, concerned that the Borough chose to omit the word "technical" from the Inspectors' recommended wording of "unless there are overriding technical constraints". By omitting the word "technical", we felt that developers would be free to present arguments on overriding financial or other constraints which prevent them complying. This is simply not acceptable to us. It is essential these cables are placed underground.

The decision by the Borough Council to nominate Sandy Lane as the location of the secondary access was also out of line with the Inspectors' recommendation. They recommended that the secondary access be from Sandy Lane or Cupernham Lane dependent on ecological surveys and highway safety considerations.

We consider it wrong to make any recommendation on the secondary access at this stage in ignorance of the full environmental reports and also reports on the implications for the highway network. We asked for the Inspector's wording to be used with omission of "safety" when referring to the highway considerations.

We also asked that alternative locations for the primary access should be explored that more directly link the development with Romsey as a whole and Woodley in particular.

So what is the South East Plan? It is a new type of government planning document which will provide a framework for development across the South East up to 2026, taking over from Regional Planning Guidance and County Structure Plans. Given Government demands for increased housing across the South East, it will have an impact across the whole region. It is being prepared by the South East Regional Assembly with an input from the County and City Councils on the district level housing figures. Ultimately, however, the figures will be subject to Government scrutiny and approval.

In the Autumn of last year, Hampshire County Council carried out a consultation on the subdivision of the allocation of the Hampshire planned house building to 2026. The consultation proposed that housebuilding to provide 80,000 dwellings in South Hampshire, which includes Southampton and Portsmouth, should take place:-

On sites within urban areas;

In a number of modest-sized urban extensions; and

In two large ‘Strategic Development Areas' (SDA's). One SDA was proposed to the north of Fareham and the other to the north/north east of Hedge End.

During the consultation many said too much housebuilding was planned on brownfield sites within urban areas. Most organisations and residents in South Hampshire supported the proposed SDA's, although both were strongly opposed by people living in the immediate vicinity.

Based on this, the County Council endorsed figures for recommendation to the Regional Assembly that includes a figure for the part of Test Valley within Southern Hampshire of 3,910 new homes. This endorsement was subject to getting commitments from Government on infrastructure funding.

Romsey Extra is one of six parishes in that part of Test Valley falling within the area categorized in the Plan as South Hampshire. The rest of Test Valley comes in Central Hampshire.

In the period to 2026, some of these 3,910 new homes will be taken up by building on brownfield sites. For the remaining 2,500 new houses, greenfield sites will have to be found. The 2,500 total is likely to include those on the Abbotswood site within the Borough Local Plan. Given that this total currently stands at 800, this would mean finding other sites for a further 1,700 new homes on greenfield sites in the six parishes. When one takes full account of the rural nature of Romsey Extra and the planning constraints elsewhere, Romsey Extra will inevitably be the main candidate for this allocation. Further discussion on this will no doubt follow.

The timetable now is that this month the Regional Assembly has agreed the district level allocations and will submit the draft Plan for submission to Government on 31 March. There will be an opportunity for commenting on the Assembly's proposals when the Government consults on the whole South East Plan during April - June 2006. Following an Examination in Public, which is a type of public inquiry, during early 2007, the Plan is expected to be issued by Government in the Spring of 2008.

Contact List of Groups, & Facilities

Carers Forum & Carers Club -anne@meader.com

Diabetes Aware - 01794 515126

Mobile Library 023 80 267393

NOMADS - amateur dramatics - ticket sales 01794 523578 or 02380 348317

Romsey Acorns Out of Schools Clubs -

02380 735744

Romsey Citizens Advice - 01794 516378

Romsey Dial-A-Ride - 01794 521515

Romsey Sea Cadets - 01794 514387

Test Valley Community Services - 01794 519998

Scouts - Romsey District Scout Council - Mr D Sutton 01794 502817

Woodley Village Hall Booking Mrs Garland -01794 523473

Youth in Romsey - 01794 500581

If you're a woman with a business idea & you want help to progress call 08454 58 85 58 or visit www.businesslinkwessex.co.uk/women

INFORMATION CENTRES
WHATEVER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT PUBLIC SERVICES IN HAMPSHIRE
WHY NOT CONTQACT US ON OUR FREE HELPLINE? - 0800 028 0888
Email:  infocentres@hants.gov.uk
Textphone: 0808 100 24 84
(customers with hearing or speech difficulties)
SMS TEXT Messaging: 07797 877 010
www.hants.gov.uk/info

Romsey Carers

Do you look after or support a relative, friend or neighbour with a long term illness or disability?

Would you like to meet others who may understand how you feel?

Then come to the Romsey Carers Café. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month at 11 am in Woodley Village Hall.

We are a friendly informal group who share support, experiences, concerns and information.

Have a coffee, snack lunch, chat with friends, collect information, receive benefit advice, arrange for support and training.

All caring people welcome. Tel: 01794 515126 for more info or email: admin@carersromsey.org.uk

Romsey Youth Council

Romsey Youth Council's programme for this year has got off to an impressive start. On February 21st they travelled to London to visit the Houses of Parliament. Our MP, Sandra Gidley, kindly volunteered to give them a tour. The trip also gave time to look at some other sights of London.

Planned is a skating trip to Basingstoke and a film evening at the Mountbatten School.

Before these planned trips, the Council have their AGM when new officers will be appointed. Current Chairman Ed Gower and a number of his colleagues will be moving on to Universities etc. The AGM is therefore the time for new members to take over the reins.

The AGM is on the 30th March at Youth in Romsey in Bell Street at 7 pm. New members will be particularly welcome.

The club meets on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month in Woodley Village Hall at 2 pm and is open to members over 55. Interest is provided with slide shows, talks, demonstrations, bingo and some social time (chat) at each meeting.

Meetings for the next three months are:

April 5th - Summer Baskets - Mr Roger Savage

April 19th - So'ton City Mission & Scratch -

Mr Chris Davis

May 8th - Bingo

May 17th - ABC (Alternative Bin Collection) - Mr Tom Evison

June 7th - The Sport of Kings - Mr Stan Wood

June 28th - Annual Outing

For national and local public transport information telephone:

Traveline: 0870 608 2 608

www.traveline.org.uk

For Hampshire Public Transport Maps and Guides contact HCC:

01962 846992

E-mail: ptgenenquiries@hants.gov.uk

Or check out our website:

www.hants.gov.uk/passengertransport

e-mail us at carol_mcfarland@hotmail.com

We would welcome any feedback you might have on any issues that might concern you in the local area. Please fill in your comments and send them to the Clerk at the address on Page 1 or e-mail as above. We welcome any comments you might have and your participation in our activities.