HVA Committee meeting

Tuesday 10th Sept at 7:30pm

For the benefit of everyone who lives in the village, I have asked our Town and District Councillors, Don Hammond and Graham Hill to explain to the HVA committee next Tuesday at 7.30pm in the village hall, why they feel that huge development in the town and in the village, as enshrined in the draft Alton Neighbourhood Plan, is the best way forward for us. Everyone is welcome to attend and seek clarification from them on this issue. To give me some idea of numbers you might like to let me know you are coming so we can put some chairs out. If you just turn up, that’s fine too but you might have to stand. (Chairman)

For those who are interested these are my (Secretary HVA) notes from the public speakers at the Town Council meeting on 4th Sept. The Council minutes are available for all to read on the Alton Town Council Website (Link here)
It was recognised by everyone that the ATC and the steering group were working very hard at such a difficult task. Also that questions asked at this meeting were not expected to receive an immediate answer, but should be addressed in due course.
Jerry Janes said that as it stands the current draft ANP includes a housing figure of 1700 whereas the housing target given to the group was for 700. It is just not viable to have 200 plus houses exiting onto London Road at the far end of the village. The traffic impact would be enormous. It would appear that one of the objectives of the ANP was, by adding 1000 houses, to completely prevent the need to develop Neatham Down and instead build in Holybourne and Windmill HIl.
Ginny Boxall (Windmill Hill) Said that a Neighbourhood Plan is a powerful tool and it needs to take everyone forward and not divide us into factions, which is what the current draft ANP is doing. Furthermore why, at the last meeting did the council put forward a request for people to find further site when the steering group said that it was too late to add any more to the plan?
Sara Whitewell (Windmill Hill) said that residents will always resist building of any sort but will of course realise that they will need to accept some. However part of the attraction of this part of England is the ammenity value it provides, especially of Windmill Hill. This amenity must be maintained and once any building starts the value is lost altogether. Alton Town itself is at its limit for infrastructure. The ATC should be working for the people of the town and not – as it appears to be putting developers first.
A Holybourne resident said that he was part of the ANP steering group and spent time with the consultants analysing all the input from the two consultations. He said that the draft ANP misrepresents the feedback from these consultations. EHDC suggested that North Alton sites should be considered but the ANP states that EHDC has little view on these Northern sites. Please confirm that the draft ANP will be corrected?
James Willis (Ex GP) acknowledged that the ATC and the ANPSG are in a very difficult position but whoever considered that building on Windmill Hill would result in less car use as people would walk into the Town has little understanding of contour lines on maps. This view is simply not the case. The EHDC local plan covers a much wider area than the ANP and as Alton is at capacity for its current infrastructure we should really be looking at a reduction in the number of houses in this area.
Anthony Furnival said he was concerned that there is a lack of public representation on the SG and this meeting’s turnout is an indicator of that. Also he is concerned that a ex Town Clerk, L. Coney, is now part of the consultancy working for the ANP. This should be viewed as a conflict of interest and should be rectified immediately otherwise the advice cannot be considered as independent.
Jack Bucknell (Windmill Hill) said that it was clear that the views of the people given at the last consultation were clearly ignored. There is more opposition to building on Windmill Hill and the town’s infrastructure is at its limit, this development will provide no more.
A teacher asked why was it that we are volunteering to pick up development at Petersfield because of their no-build policy.
Joanne Ryan (Holybourne) questioned the integrity of the consultants who surveyed the area. They told EHDC that 223 houses was a sustainable, achievable figure. They did not consult with residents over flooding. Holybourne is built on a hill which has many springs arising in it and the land’s watertable is very near the surface for much of the year. Many listed buildings have pumping systems which constantly move the water out. The flooding risk here is high and should be recognised. The traffic survey undertaken by the consultants was considered not representative and repeated by residents over a full 12 hours giving a totally different result. London Road really does not have the capacity to recieve traffic from this size of development. We agree that sites should be investigated and outcome based on evidence. This evidence must be clear, detailed and fair.The Holybourne surveys were clearly none of these.
Jane Davies (Holybourne) said that she did not want to delay the meeting by re-itterating points already covered most adequately. She would just like to register her support for the views aired.
Rob Fowell (Windmill Hill) said that as the housing numbers coming from Central Government are now some 80% more than before, going to Reg 14 consultation with a plan which does not meet the current views acurately was foolish. The housing problem is coming and we need to do something to control it. We should be in a position to review all areas together and then our final decision would be valid.

The best source for public footpaths is the OS map. There is one diagonal public footpath marked on it from Howards Lane(track) up to Brockham Hill Lane. The large one visible on google maps of the area from the field behind Eggars up to the Parish boundary is not a public footpath but is probably one of the Froyle Estates permissive paths under the Govt 2020 scheme which recently finished.

Link to Alton Neighbourhood Plan Page

on this page we have put details of the aspects and the discussions that have arisen from the new Hampshire Local Plan and the Alton Neighbourhood Plan. Please browse at your leisure. If you would like to make points and/or contributions then email them to secretary@holybourne.com or use the WhatsApp Alton Neighbourhood Plan group (preferably) or the Holybourne Hub group. Relevant items there will be added to this page.