11/26/2019 Mail - Woodgate, Jenny - Outlook Local Plan large Development Sites Consultation Whitehill & Bordon Tue 15/10/2019 20:04 To: EHDC - Local Plan <[email protected]> 3 attachments (21 KB) EHDC.Bordon.Letter.15.10.19..docx; EHDC.Bordon.Questions.15.10.19..docx; .EHDC.Letter.15.10.19..docx; Dear EHDC Local Plan I enclose three documents attached being: 1. Comments on the proposed Development of Bordon in letter form 2. Response to your questionnaire for Whitehill and Bordon 3. A letter about Standford Grange Farm (SA8) which is included under question 9 since it is linked to the developments on Bordon and Whitehill Yours truly https://outlook.office.com/mail/none/id/AAMkADIxNjE3NWJlLTMxYmEtNDEwZC1iOGM4LTYxOTllYjNmN2MzZQBGAAAAAABrEkrzGtHSSpsf0nN… 1/1 Local Plan Consultation, EHDC by email LARGE DEVELOPMENT SITES CONSULTATION PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT OF WHITEHILL AND BORDON The real objection to these new developments in Bordon and Whitehill is that it is currently in the grip of a major development, the Ecotown, and so one cannot assess the impact of the existing development (eg on infrastructure) because it is still being built. Therefore it is impossible to assess these future major proposals. Whitehill and Bordon have been in a state of almost continuous development since the 1980s. The history of this is as follows: 1. In 1866 there was a settlement over a dispute of common rights in Woolmer Forest (which then and still (in part) goes up to Broxhead Common), and parcels of land were given to some 500 claimants in the low-lying area (Deadwater), Whitehill and along the Hogmoor Road. The rest of the Forest in Bordon was kept by the Crown. This was run as a producing forest until 1892 or later. 2. In about 1908 the Army moved the Camp up from Greatham. The camp was enlarged in World War I and II. 3. In the 1920s people moving back from the Empire built new houses in Hindhead and Grayshott. Less well off people settled in Headley. The Sergeants and other lower classes built bungalows in Whitehill. But nobody built houses in Bordon/Deadwater, even though the land was in the public domain. 4. By 1969 the population of Bordon village was about 1800 people, mainly around the foot of Chalet Hill. The red light district (camp followers) was where the Forest Centre is, and the rest was shacky chicken farms and junk yards. This is Bordon phase I 5. In the 1970s the HCC proposed to build a town of 40,000 people from Bordon up to Ludshot Common. They made bore holes and conducted surveys. Headley people united to fight this strongly, and eventually they abandoned this for in-filling Bordon/Deadwater up to Whitehill, which brought the population up to 13,000 - some infilling. Bordon Phase II was built in the 1980s and 90s and had a certain logic. Shops schools and housing were all on the East side of the A325 so that children did not have to cross the main road. Business parks were on the West side. 6. However, Bordon Phase II was not a success. Despite being joined up, Bordon and Whitehill never jelled. Bordon/Deadwater was a different environment and attracted a lower socio- economic class (the poor are forced to live in the most unpleasant areas), and they continued to be separate. 7. The Ecotown plans recognised this failure, and proposed major developments ( now taking place) to make Bordon a success. However the signs are not encouraging. For example, local people there are furious about what is happening: The Chase Hospital is being closed (as the Town gets larger!!). There are almost no buses (none to Basingstoke Hospital). There is no bank and high rents of business premises which small business men cannot afford. There is bad planning with houses up to the roads, cars parked on the roads, poor construction, bad design, and bad roads (people use the Hogmoor Road more than the new Relief Road!) Most local people think that the Ecotown is turning into a disaster. Whether it really is or not only time will tell. But the chance of success seems small, especially since the people running the show are all outsiders, who one resident described as 8. The proposal to build 1800 more houses in these circumstances, is not carefully considered. It is impossible to judge their impact since we don't know the impact of the present developments. 9. The omens are not hopeful, with 2 1/2 failures so far, why should Bordon Phase IV be any different? Conclusions All future developments of Bordon and Whitehill should be put on hold until the present developments have been completed and allowed to bed in for several years, to see whether Phase III is a success or failure. Any future developments should not be organised nor managed by the same people/contractors who are currently running the present show and making the residents so angry. Yours truly Consultation Questionnaire East Hants Local Plan Large Developments sites Bordon and Whitehill 1: Do you have any comments on the proposed uses? When the Army left Bordon in 2015, about 400 local people lost their jobs. What the area needed then, and still needs, is jobs. (Jobs bring prosperity and amenities - houses just cost money to maintain.) Despite this, about 3000 new houses were approved by the Inquiry, even though they were not needed then. So the additional 1800 houses (Bordon-Whitehill 1284 + 360 on Standford Grange Farm + 150 on mill Chase School = 1794). being proposed, are not needed either. Houses without jobs causes loss of dignity, stress, and commuting by car (since no train and buses almost non-existent) which kills animals on roads and causes global warming. So Whitehill- Bordon is an environment disaster, and the people who live there have difficult lives. 2: What infrastructure is required to support the proposal and when? This could be on or off- site provision. Bordon has been in an almost continuous state of development since the 1980s (see my attached letter for details). In fact the Ecotown is still being built, and so it is impossible to judge the impact of these new proposals. However, the following are obvious. The road system is being challenged. the bus services are severely inadequate; the health system is deficient: the Chase hospital is being closed and there are no buses to Basingstoke Hospital. There are not enough GPs, and the waiting time to see a GP is 4 weeks. Furthermore, there is Lyme disease in the Bordon area - I know of several cases, and TB and respiratory illnesses in the low-lying areas. There is no Bank, and rents are too high - I know of several small businesses who have problems because of this. 3: Do you know of any other constraints to developing the site? Please provide detail and evidence. North East Hampshire is a rural area of Forests (Woolmer and Alice Holt), home of the National Trust (Waggoner's Wells), Gilbert White (Selborne), and Jane Austen (Chawton). Bordon is within a few miles of these places. Yet it is being developed in a headlong fashion, without any consideration to the consequences for the surrounding areas, with their sunken lanes and beauty sports and history. 4: What opportunities and/or benefits do you think the proposal could bring. Please explain how. Bordon has always been a failure, and so these latest proposals could be the development which breaks the camels back. Then eventually there might be an inquiry into these serial failures (4 by then), and people will realise that the real problem is in the environment. 5: What are the cross-boundary considerations and the potential implications? How can they be overcome? The National Park seems to be creating a "them-and-us" situation. Instead of development taking place organically over the whole area, it is being frozen in some areas, and aggressive over- development forced in other areas, such as Bordon. There is also the problem of the annexation of 150 acres of the separate parish of Headley and the incorporation of Hollywater and Standford into Bordon. The site promoters consider their proposal to be deliverable within the Local Plan period up to 2036. 6: Is there any reason that this is not achievable? People who have moved to Bordon recently are already moving away. Eventually this will become a disaster and bring an end to development. 7: Is there any other Large Development Site that could deliver over 600 homes and other supporting uses by 2036, that is not included in this consultation? This obsession with housing is misguided. First you create jobs, then houses, otherwise not. Now that we are leaving the EU, this will also reduce pressure on housing. 8: Do you have any comments on the assessment of Large Development Sites, as set out in the Council’s background paper? <link> Too complicated - I don't understand this 9: Do you have any comments on the relationship between Large Development Sites and the draft Local Plan (2017-2036), particularly in relation to what other policies and proposals the draft Local Plan should contain? The plans for Whitehill-Bordon are linked to a 150 acre SANG on the Standford Grange Farm (which is in Headley) which together with Mill Chase School has 510 houses proposed, yet these have been excluded from the consultation. Why? We present detailed objections to these developments in a separate letter. 10: Is there any feedback you would like to give us about this consultation? This consultation is not really a proper consultation: i. Key parts of the development of Bordon, namely the SANG on Standford Grange Farm, have been omitted.