BLUEPRINT MEETING Shedfield Parish Council consists of 3 villages, Shedfield, Shirrell Heath and Waltham Chase. A group of residents from Ashley Gardens, Bull Lane, Clubhouse Lane, Red Leaves (representative), Brooklyn Close, Winchester Road and Chase Grove attended an informal meeting to discuss the Blueprint Project for our 3 Villages. Here are the results of our discussion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ STATISTICS & BLUEPRINT PACKAGE It was noted immediately that the statistics that had been provided by Winchester City Council for our Ward were incorrect and 9 years out of date, thus making it totally irrelevant. It was also noted that although some figures were taken for all 3 villages, other figures were only taken solely for Waltham Chase. It was felt that as we are a Parish consisting of 3 villages, we protested most strongly that only Waltham Chase appeared to be mentioned as the Parish Council Ward – it was felt totally irregular in a Consultation Process because WCC should take the Parish as a whole, and not segregate individual villages to suit their own figures. In short, Waltham Chase is not a separate Ward with its own Parish Council. At the request and concern of Mrs Smith, a local resident, Winchester City Council concurred that their statistics were incorrect and obsolete. A new set of correct and more up-to-date figures were accumulated via the Neighbourhood Statistics Office (November 2009) to give a more rounded scenario for the 3 villages. As a group, we were not able to work with the fictitious characters produced in the Blueprint Pack as we were unable to establish how many “Pams” or “Davis Families” there were in the vicinity because we didn’t have their personal details to hand, thus giving only viewpoints and presumptions rather than facts about our Community. Although we were encouraged by WCC to report back to them using their format, we preferred to put our Discussion in our own configuration. The following figures are taken for the whole Ward, i.e. our 3 villages. We noted the following points and questions first of all to see who lived in the neighbourhood so we could understand our Community more and see what our make-up was in order to consider their needs: How many people live in the 3 villages? 4,112 How many young people are there? 261 – aged 16-24 years old. How many older people are there? 853 – aged 65 and over What are our children’s statistics? 813 – aged from 0-15 Who else lives in the villages? 2,185 – between ages of 16-64 . How many shops are there? In Shedfield and Shirrell Heath there is only shop – McCarthy’s. In Waltham Chase we have a bicycle shop, a MACE store, a Post Office Store, a Hairdressers, Rosehill Garage, a Motor Caravan & Car Sales Depot and several Industrial Units at Clewers Hill (Church House Farm). There are also a number of industrial units along Curdridge Lane in the Farms along that Lane. How many Council purpose-built In Waltham Chase, only 8 (Red Leaves). bungalows are there for our older ones? It is not known how many, if any, are in Shirrell Heath or Shedfield How many houses are privately owned? 91.1%. How many are privately rented? 5.4% Ashley Gardens/Brooklyn Close/Clubhouse Lane/Bull Lane/Red Leaves/Chase Grove Group 2 LOCAL AREA & REASONS WHY PEOPLE CAME TO LIVE IN THE VILLAGES Everyone present all agreed that the three villages of Shedfield, Shirrell Heath and Waltham Chase were very welcoming and originally were considered as rural areas. Many in the group were born and brought up here, as were their Parents and Grandparents. It was clear that people were really happy in this wonderful “community spirit” environment. Many people stated they had moved here because of this fact - that there were open areas, with a rural and countryside landscape, with a good community and camaraderie spirit. It was noted that a large amount of resources in the area applied to equestrian and agricultural activities thus giving this lovely “rural feel”. We have a high density of stabling and pasture for the small villages, as well as agricultural and arable land pursuits and this has attracted a number of people in the community for this rural recreation. DEVELOPMENT OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS To be able to look into the future, it is necessary to see what the last 20 years has produced by way of previous development, and observe what this has done to the 3 villages relating to infrastructure, floods, transportation etc. As Winchester City Council seem to be insisting on only dealing with Waltham Chase regarding possible development projects over the next 20 years, one of my group has collected the following developmental statistics from the past 20 years for this particular village only i.e. Waltham Chase. Homes Developed since 1980 No. Development Residences Amberlea 4 Ashley Gdns 4 Brooklynn Close 54 Chase Farm Close 54 Chase Grove 5 Clayhill close 48 Clubhouse Lane 1 Coach House 2 Coolgardie 4 Dalecote Farm 1 Folemoor 1 Lawsonia (now Morrell Close) 8 Linden Close 20 Lyons Copse 1 Milner Cottages 3 Mizpah Villas 2 poplar Cottages 2 Poplars 12 Provene Gardens 0 Ridings 41 Robins Nest 2 Smithy Cottage 2 St Aubyns/Fairlawn 14 Talugra 1 GRAND TOTAL 286 Ashley Gardens/Brooklyn Close/Clubhouse Lane/Bull Lane/Red Leaves/Chase Grove Group 3 (development over past 20 years – continued) The result of having this influx of new buildings and development without having assistance of infrastructure in place built into the situation has taken its toll on the village of Waltham Chase. In the last 5 years alone, development has produced 56 new dwellings mainly in Waltham Chase. It has been clearly seen that the infrastructure has broken down even more due to all this development. It was agreed by the Group that school places, severe flooding, increase in traffic, and more electricity power cuts, has certainly been imposed on our local villages. It was agreed by some people at the Meeting that although assurances had been made by Winchester City Council regarding certain affordable homes/rented accommodation which would meet the local needs first, this unfortunately has not been carried out and in fact with every single development that has been produced in the Village, WCC apparently has ignored the needs of the local people first (as promised) and these homes are now lived in by people from outside areas such Alton, Basingstoke and Portsmouth. No one has been placed in any of these developments from the local villages even though there has been a proven need for them to be facilitated! Examples are available of this fact if required. AND THE FUTURE OF DEVELOPMENT FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS? a) Young People’s needs (16-24 years old), Previous Consultation Meetings and HARRAH A Meeting took place last February 2010 at the Methodist Hall, Curdrige Lane, Waltham Chase via HARRAH and WCC who tried to identify a specific need relating to our youngsters and their interest in wishing to stay within the 3 villages. There were 54 separate “questionnaires of interest” filed by our young people – quite a high demand. It was later realised by the majority of these young people that the suggestion of development proffered was not what they were looking for i.e. the mainstream of them wanted rented accommodation as this was more affordable to them. Most of these young people felt they were not in a position in this current financial environment to build up a deposit, and certainly were not able to get any mortgage in place for half share of any development offered to them. So basically, the idea was cancelled out! It was also noted by some people in our group that the particular development being suggested at the time (Mount Pleasant and Gamblins field) protruded into the green belt, and was out of the jurisdiction of Shedfield Parish Council’s domain. As a Group we asked WHY this development had been heralded up as a developmental site in the first place, as the latest Government Plan to utilise green space had not come into force and certainly did not suit the needs of the local community at all. The area suggested was too far away from the main centre of the local village, as this was the highest peak of the village which would cause severe flooding and density to that area, and also was not suitable for the needs of our older community – it also heralded the aspect of “light industrial units and office space”. Most people in our group agreed due to this previous Consultation that our younger community (aged 16-24) preferred rented accommodation. Others felt that young people in our village have NO CHOICE about staying or leaving; if they want rented, part rented or purchase. They have no option but to move away and it was felt strongly they should have choices. One member in our group before the meeting asked their own two grown up children (aged 20 and 23) that if they had the chance would they come and live in the village? Their responses were that no, they would not wish to live here under the current situation as there were hardly any job prospects available, and it was extremely difficult to travel via public transportation to a place of work in nearby Fareham, or further away i.e. Winchester or Southampton. They also felt there were no facilities for their age group, no leisure activities and stated that the area was “boring” and “dormitory”. Ashley Gardens/Brooklyn Close/Clubhouse Lane/Bull Lane/Red Leaves/Chase Grove Group 4 b) Our Older Generation’s needs (65 plus) As discovered by the Neighbourhood statistics, we have 853 people aged 65+ living in the 3 villages.