Category: News
ALTON HERALD – NEWS FROM FOUR MARKS.
A formidable and predictable level of protest has again been registered with East Hants District Council planning when 431 Objections were received in response to a speculative, back-land development of 60 houses behind 46 Lymington Bottom, Four Marks.
This is the THIRD time Gladman Developments Ltd, (a division of Barratt Developments PLC) has submitted this proposal, largely unchanged, and EACH and EVERY time, the village has let its views be known with 430+ objections.
background
Four Marks and “South” Medstead have been inundated with housing developments, increasing from approx. 2073 to 2624 (26% increase) over 8 years up to 2021, without any significant improvement in infrastructure or facilities. The resulting increase in traffic has caused difficulties at the road junctions joining the A31 trunk road, dangerous levels of traffic outside the oversubscribed Primary schools and both doctor’s surgeries overstretched.
Over the last 6 months, two local resident’s groups have formed, first of all SMASH (South Medstead against Speculative Housing) www.smashonline.co.uk and the Fight4FourMarks group reformed with new members www.fight4fourmarks.co.uk .
Both groups are focussed on making sure that residents are fully informed about the speculative applications from voracious land developers who are targeting Four Marks and Medstead because they know only too well that EHDC have been caught on the hop without a current 5year land supply. EHDC are also in the middle of drawing up a new Local Plan, something both groups are working hard to keep abreast of and making detailed submissions to the consultation process.
On the recent Application from Gladman, Fight4FourMarks mobilised to get the word out to every household, over the early part of June 2023. Feedback from residents to EHDC highlighted the general concerns about the size and density of the proposed estate and the ability of our existing infrastructure to cope. There were serious concerns about the increase in traffic onto Lymington Bottom, so near the busy school where drop off and pick up times are already dangerously congested. This part of the road network also floods easily and the additional predictable run off from this estate on a steep slope worried many.
Dr Arthur Barlow, Chair of Fight4FourMarks said:
” The more than 430 comments received by EHDC represent a significant proportion of the local population. Residents are understandably concerned about the re-emergence of highly speculative and unplanned proposals and the impact on our already over inadequate local infrastructure. We have achieved our objective of making sure EHDC understand the depth of local feeling and the huge number of objections should give them cause for serious concern. Almost identical Gladman applications for developing this site have been refused for sound planning reasons twice before and nothing material has changed, so it should be dismissed for a third time”.
Other information
The opportunity for public comments closed on 28 June 2023 and a decision is expected to be made by the planning committee, date TBC.
The Planning Application can be viewed on line on EHDC planning system, under ref 56082/004.
| Outline planning application for demolition of 46 Lymington Bottom, Four Marks and the erection of up to 60 dwellings with vehicular access point, public open space, landscaping and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). All matters reserved except for means of access.
| Mount Royal, 46 Lymington Bottom, Four Marks, Alton, GU34 5AH (easthants.gov.uk)
YOUR COMMENTS must be submitted by 28 June 2023, SO please ACT NOW!!
East Hants District Council have just received an application for 60 NEW HOUSES IN A BACKLAND DEVELOPMENT in land behind 46 Lymington Bottom (near the school).
Sadly, due to East Hants no longer being able to demonstrate a 5 year land supply, Four Marks is again without protection from voracious developers intent upon putting in speculative applications in unsustainable locations.
CURRENT BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
An application for 45 houses off Boyneswood Road has been recently approved and there is another imminent application for 120 houses to be built on land adjacent to Barn Lane. This Lymington bottom site will add another 60 houses to the village, creating a potential total of 225 in a very short space of time, putting pressure on local services, drainage and roads. In addition, 225 houses will mean that, in line with the LEA’s own calculations, provision will need to be found for at least another 75 children, and that is just infant and junior school school places!
Four Marks is still labouring under the inadequacy of its existing infrastructure due to the last round of major developments and is certainly not able to absorb even more, now unplanned development.
This latest application at Lymington Bottom is for 60 houses on a field that:
- Rises steeply away from the road, which already floods in wet weather making pedestrian and cycle routes impassable outside the school. (see above image taken on 9 May 2023 after just a modest downpour!)
- Is a development at urban density, out of keeping for this area of the village. If you want to know what urban density looks like in reality, here it is. Roads remain unadopted by the Local Authority because they are too narrow, emergency vehicles cannot get through the cars that will be parked up on the pavement on both sides of the road, as seen in this photograph taken recently in one of Four Marks new estates off Winchester Road. Building at urban density is appropriate in urban areas i.e. in the middle of towns and cities that have infrastructure that makes everyday life functional without a private transport Four Marks is NOT that sort of place – we are spread out, infrastructure poor and no one can juggle work and school runs, leisure and family visits without a car. It is a rural existence and any new housing has to be in the right location and at an appropriate density.
- The long distance away from jobs, shops and surgeries etc mean any new residents will, as we all know, use their cars to manage daily life.
Please go online, see what you think of this application and leave your comments. The planning authority need to hear our voices.
Land south of Winchester Road (adjoining no. 173), Four Marks Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 Regulation 6 – Request for Screening Opinion.
Locally known as the Barn Lane development, this initial request for a Screening Opinion is likely to soon be followed by a full planning application for 120 homes in the field running adjacent to Barn Lane.
F4FM will be keeping abreast of this application because in our opinion, this is an environmentally sensitive site, being surrounded by undisturbed woodland, hedgerows and open farmland, and identified as containing protected species. There are also important vistas across the surrounding countryside, an area that is important in the wider landscape. The sustainability of the site is a contentious issue, with access to local amenities and services being at a distance and gradient unreasonable for those without private transport.
The Barn Lane access onto the A31 is also an issue that will need careful consideration, bearing in mind the changes in traffic due to the impact of major local development that has taken place since the Highways comments of 2014. Barn Lane itself is part of the wider footpath network and an important amenity for both local walkers and other byway users.
These are a few of the considerations that will need to be taken into account by planners when considering the suitability of this site for development. The opinions expressed by the applicants so far (see the link below) rely heavily on comments made by statutory consultees back in 2014. A lot of adjacent development has impacted the area surrounding the site in the intervening nine years and this requires careful re-assessment.
Planning Application 55358/001
The Coronation Picnic on Sunday 7 May caught the fair weather over the weekend and brought out a good crowd of local residents who kept us busy right from the start!
We met many neighbours and gained interesting perspectives on living in Four Marks , from new estate residents as well as folk who have lived here for generations.
There was a lot of interest in the implications of potential development sites now being considered and the future allocation of sites in the new local plan. People were also keen to discuss the state of our local infrastructure, (lack of a pub, how difficult it is to get anywhere without using the car, flooded roads etc.,)
It was not all work and no play – we had great success with our local map game ‘Can you find your house?’ enjoyed by over 50 children and their families, along with a free lucky dip, and for the grown-ups, a free Bottle Tombola and Gourmet Goodies Basket prize draw. The winner lives in Handyside Place and we are delivering the basket this evening.
We are now working on updating our mailing list with new members and planning our next event.
Our thanks go to the Parish Council admin team who worked so hard to make this a really lovely day for our community!
Our community’s excellent monthly magazine has a Civic Business section which this month includes reports from the Parish Council and two of the retiring District Councillors, Diana Tennyson and Ingrid Thomas.
Four Marks and Medstead are losing two hard working councillors with a deep understanding of the local natural environment and in Cllr. Thomas, extensive experience and knowledge of district planning and development issues (an extract from her last report is below .)
F4FM is keen that any new candidates prioritise planning and the environment in Four Marks and Medstead, demonstrating their understanding of local needs and priorities. With the development of the latest Local Plan, this awareness will be vital for new councillors who will be thrown into the deep end with important decisions about large sites potentially being made very soon after the election. We await their manifesto/personal statements with interest.
Four Marks News also has a report covering the latest progress on the new community building from the Parish Council, who will be distributing an up to date fact sheet to every household in the coming month.
The application for 112 house development behind Lymington Barns, Medstead was refused by East Hants District Council, but this has now gone to appeal.
The developers have also submitted a fresh application.
The proposed development is outside the designated planning boundary as set out in the Medstead and Four Marks Neighbourhood Plan.
You can view and comment on this application by following the link below.
Just fill in the application number 58788/002.
All comments need to be made by 8 March.
For more local information on the likely impact of this development, please visit :
In the latest reshuffle, Lucy Frazer is promoted from housing minister to become culture secretary. She spent a full 91 days in the role! Rachel MacLean, (with a degree in Experimental Psychology and experience in banking and IT), takes over.
There have now been six housing ministers in the past year alone, with 15 Housing Ministers and nine Housing Secretaries since 2010.
We are already keeping a close eye on the progress of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and how it will affect work on the Local Plan at East Hants. However, the ‘revolving door’ appointments at Government level continue to stoke uncertainty in the sector which is already suffering from a lack of coherent policy making.
We are still hoping that East Hants will adopt a timetable that allows them to take full account of impending changes in legislation.
The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP
The Rt Hon Lucy Frazer KC MP was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 7 February 2023. She was previously Minister of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 26 October 2022 to 7 February 2023. She was previously Minister of State at the Departm…
the feedback reports to EHDC from F4FM, SMASH (Stand with Medstead Against Speculative Housing) and Four Marks Parish Council.
The statement by Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP on 9th December 2022 introduced many proposed changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which will have a direct impact on Development in the EHDC / Four Marks and Medstead villages. The Bill is currently making it’s way through the House of Lords and is not expected to pass into law until the latter part of 2023. Timetables can, of course, change!
We have outlined below (in plain English) the key changes and summarized what they mean to the residents of Four Marks and Meadstead
We will continue to monitor progress and look forward to all changes being fully embraced by the Local Plan process.
revisions to the bill
relevance to us
Abolish Mandatory House building targets imposed by Central Government
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Not mandatory targets imposed by remote central government; therefore, targets are up to EHDC. 57% of land is in a protected National Park, squeezing EHDC Quota into less than half the land will be recognised as unfair and fewer houses need to be planned for. Four Marks and Medstead are villages, with a rural character which must now be taken into account. |
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Now to be an advisory starting point, a guide. Local authorities, working with their communities will determine how many homes can be built, taking into account what should be protected in each area—be that Green Belt or national parks, the character of an area, or heritage assets. Local Authorities will not be expected to build developments at densities that would be wholly out of character. |
protect farmland
Further protection in national policy for our important agricultural land for food production, making it harder for developers to build on it.
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Previously some sites for 650+ homes, were to be built on productive farmland. Don’t accept arguments about ‘wrong type of farmland’. Fields around Four Marks produce food for our Nation; much of the land is designated as “Subgrade 3a: Good Quality Agricultural Land”. |
local people have greater say
The Planning Inspectorate will no longer be able to override sensible local decision making, which is sensitive to and reflects local constraints and concerns.
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Previously some sites for 650+ homes, were to be built on productive Farmland. Don’t accept arguments about ‘wrong type of farmland’. Fields around Four Marks produce food for our Nation; much of the land is designated as “Subgrade 3a: Good Quality Agricultural Land”. |
ends obligation for rolling five-year supply of land for housing
Ends obligation for rolling five-year supply of land for housing to be identified by the Local Authority.
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Eliminates the cumbersome and highly restrictive need to identify a 5 year Land Supply for building. |
credit for historic overbuilding
Areas that have overdelivered on housing can reduce the number of houses they need to plan for in a new Local Plan.
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As part of East Hants District, Four Marks has historically absorbed an unfair proportion of the district’s housing numbers, leading to a reduction in our previous target. Current Local Plan stated minimum of 175 new homes by 2028, we are already at 625 by 2017 |
prevent land-banking
Bill to ensure developers build out the developments for which they already have planning… allowing local planning authorities to refuse planning applications from developers who have built slowly in the past.
One site in the south of our District has not built out on a major site causing additional pressures on the remaining parts of the county.
use brownfield first
Set different levy rates in different areas, for example lower rates on brownfield over greenfield to increase the potential for brownfield development.
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Increase use of Brownfield sites to protect greenfield, especially productive Farmland. Infrastructure levy to be higher for Brownfield sites. |