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