Housing Objection Continues

The issue of the proposed green belt new housing development near Milford on Sea Primary School has developed into a clear disagreement between the Milford on Sea Parish Council and New Forest District Council.

The Parish Council have made their position clear at a recent meeting and in the letter below.  The committee have advised that they would welcome anyone who share their concerns or objections to contacts members of the New Forest District Council before their planned meeting this coming Monday evening.  (To be held at Appletree Court on Monday 18^th June 2012)

Should you wish to register you own objection in support of the Parish Council’s plea, their is a list of NFDC contact e-mails at the foot of this article. 

The Parish Council are happy for you to use any of the content from their letter below should you wish.

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To all NFDC Councillors

(For the Council meeting to be held at Appletree Court on Monday 18th June 2012)

Core Strategy Policy – MoS1

The Parish Council asks the District Council to reduce the provision on this site to up to 10 dwellings. Reinstate the full earlier proposal for public open space and continue to work with the Parish Council to identify other sites to provide at least a further 20 units in small clusters, including the option of the Parish Council preparing a neighbourhood plan for that purpose.

Keith Metcalf  -  Parish Clerk - Milford on Sea Parish Council

For information, the following communication was sent to members of the Cabinet and explains in detail our earlier request:

I am writing on behalf of Milford on Sea Parish Council.

LOCAL PLAN PART 2 : SITES AND DEVELOPMENT

The Plan is flawed for the following reasons:

1 The District Council is about to renege on the District Local Plan Policy MS-2 Adopted in 1999, which allocated 2 hectares of land at School Lane to be laid out as public open space (F20/2). The Plan stated "there is currently a shortfall of nearly 6 hectares in the playing field provision and even with the allocation at School Lane, there will still remain a deficit of nearly 4 hectares of formal open space“

2 The Village Design Statement adopted by the District Council in 2002 restated that position.

3.The 2004 Public Inquiry into the District Plan stated; “The site (at School Lane) is allocated as formal open space. The local planning authority has argued that there is a shortage of playing field provision in the settlement. I have seen no evidence to contradict that view.”  That Inquiry also rejected a bid for residential development, setting out a number of reasons and concluding “Its development would therefore harm the Green Belt”

4. The District Council’s 2007 PPG17 assessment of open space concluded Milford on Sea “has a low level of outdoor sports provision compared to the District, and the playing pitch study supports bringing forward the 1.92 hectares site at School Lane allocated in the local Plan”. The assessment also supported the need for a multi-use games area as a priority particularly for youth activities, a small indoor sports facility, and allotments.

5. The current draft Sites Plan proposed building up to 30 homes on the School Lane site and the provision of an additional 2 hectares of formal public open space on land to the east of the School. This to include public playing fields, play space for the residential development on the School Lane site, and space for the provision of 5 full size allotments. The Parish Council has consistently pressed for at least 30 affordable homes in Milford on Sea but for these to be provided instead in small clusters including up to 10 at the School Lane site, and we supported the provision of at least 2 hectares of additional formal open space.

6. Councillors are now being asked to reject the District’s own proposal. The Cabinet and Council now face the following last minute revised proposal, “ that further consideration be given to reduce the number of dwellings to up to 20 units and that there should be a commensurate reduction in public open space”. The Chief Planning Officer has stated that the intention is to remove from the proposed Sites Plan all of the 2 hectares of public open space that had been proposed to the east of the School, and explained that the housing development will take up about half of the School Lane site, leaving just half for the public, contradicting the District Council’s long standing position on the need for additional formal public open space.

7. So the District intend to act contrary both to the earlier Public Inquiry and to the District Council’s own consultation proposal.  This has rendered the consultation meaningless.  No residents are aware of these proposed changes.  Neither they nor the Parish Council are apparently allowed to make further representations.

8. We urge the District Council to allow for views to be expressed on the latest proposal before decisions are taken.

Cllr. R Bishop

Vice-Chair Milford on Sea Parish Council

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If you do chose the send an e-mail to NFDC, the Parish Council have provide a list of relevant e-mails below.

To use, simply copy the list, and then paste it into the 'To' field on your e-mail. 

'alan.alvey@newforest.gov.uk'; 'diane.andrews@newforest.gov.uk'; 'goff.beck@newforest.gov.uk'; 'roxanne.bellows@newforest.gov.uk'; 'sue.bennison@newforest.gov.uk'; 'james.binns@newforest.gov.uk'; 'dean.britton@newforest.gov.uk'; 'di.brooks@newforest.gov.uk'; 'steve.clarke@newforest.gov.uk'; 'jill.cleary@newforest.gov.uk'; 'george.dart@newforest.gov.uk'; 'stevep.davies@newforest.gov.uk'; 'bill.dow@newforest.gov.uk'; 'christine.ford@newforest.gov.uk'; 'allan.glass@newforest.gov.uk'; 'michael.harris@newforest.gov.uk'; 'chris.harrison@newforest.gov.uk'; 'david.harrison@newforest.gov.uk'; 'edward.heron@newforest.gov.uk'; 'jeremy.heron@newforest.gov.uk'; 'ann.hickman@newforest.gov.uk'; 'alison.hoare@newforest.gov.uk'; 'maureen.holding@newforest.gov.uk'; 'penny.jackman@newforest.gov.uk'; 'melville.kendal@newforest.gov.uk'; 'alexander.kilgour@newforest.gov.uk'; 'chris.lagdon@newforest.gov.uk'; 'elizabeth.lewis@newforest.gov.uk'; 'penny.lovelace@newforest.gov.uk'; 'brian.lucas@newforest.gov.uk'; 'alexis.mcevoy@newforest.gov.uk'; 'maureen.mclean@newforest.gov.uk'; 'alan.osullivan@newforest.gov.uk'; 'michael.pemberton@newforest.gov.uk'; 'neville.penman@newforest.gov.uk'; 'john.penwarden@newforest.gov.uk'; 'leslie.puttock@newforest.gov.uk'; 'alan.rice@newforest.gov.uk'; 'barry.rickman@newforest.gov.uk'; 'steve.rippon-swaine@newforest.gov.uk'; 'maureen.robinson@newforest.gov.uk'; 'anna.rostand@newforest.gov.uk'; 'david.russell@newforest.gov.uk'; 'ron.scrivens@newforest.gov.uk'; 'ann.sevier@newforest.gov.uk'; 'michael.southgate@newforest.gov.uk'; 'tony.swain@newforest.gov.uk'; 'michael.thierry@newforest.gov.uk'; 'andrew.tinsley@newforest.gov.uk'; 'derek.tipp@newforest.gov.uk'; 'paul.vickers@newforest.gov.uk'; 'malcolm.wade@newforest.gov.uk'; 'stan.wade@newforest.gov.uk'; 'bob.wappet@newforest.gov.uk'; 'christine.ward@newforest.gov.uk'; 'johngward@newforest.gov.uk'; 'colin.wise@newforest.gov.uk'; 'barbara.woodifield@newforest.gov.uk'; 'paul.woods@newforest.gov.uk'; 'pat.wyeth@newforest.gov.uk'; ‘bob.bishop211@btinternet.com’;‘keithmetcalf@btinternet.com’