'Deep concerns' over homes proposal in Overton Hill (From This is Hampshire)
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'Deep concerns' over homes proposal in Overton Hill
12:50pm Thursday 25th October 2012 in News By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter
IT’S going to make our lives worse – that was what a group of residents had to say about a proposed 120-home development in Overton.
People living in Overton Hill spoke at an Overton Parish Council meeting to voice their concerns about Turley Associates’ plans to develop part of the 8.4 hectare site, next to Station Road and north of Overton Hill, which is owned by banknote-manufacturing company De La Rue.
The plan is to build houses on 3.4 hectares, and create a county park on the other 4.8 hectares. A planning application is expected to be submitted soon.
Hugh Macdonald-Smith, from Overton Hill, moved to the village with his wife in 2009. The grandfather said: “We are deeply concerned about the proposed development. I accept the national need for more housing but I strongly believe that this should not be at the expense of those who live presently in this village.” He said too many lorries would be going through, the estate.
Kevin Wragg, an Overton Hill resident, shared his concerns. The police officer said: “If there are 120 houses, there could be almost 200 more cars using that road.”
Councillor Peter Baker agreed, and said: “One through-road is just not acceptable.”
He added: “Overton has accepted 250 houses over the last 10 years but enough is enough.”
A public exhibition was held in Overton in October, but parish councillors said it was inadequate because not enough people knew about it. Councillors agreed to write to Turley Associates saying they would disregard it because it had not been of sufficient standard.
John O’Donovan, director of Turley Associates told The Gazette: “We wrote to 220 residents and gave over a week’s notice of the consultation event and this we believe to be adequate.”
Comments(3)
AndrewRH
says...
2:33pm Thu 25 Oct 12
www.myjourneyhampshi
re.com
(all one words, no dashes or line breaks as this comment system often puts in to URLs)
dobbin007
says...
6:50pm Thu 25 Oct 12
AndrewRH says...
2:14pm Thu 25 Oct 12
It seems the default thinking of developers and the council is to presume people must use their cars to get everywhere. That cannot continue indefinitely without more concerns.
Instead developers and the council should build appropriate infrastructure (eg road markings, 20mph, paths, bicycle parking) which makes people feel safe enough to choose to use a bicycle or their feet to get to the shops or work, saving the use of their car for longer journeys or picking up the bulky stuff for DIY projects (even for these some people are able to manage without a car).