Archive for category: News

The planning application on Hole Lane to build 93 new homes has been REFUSED. 

Please see link below:

https://planningpublicaccess.easthants.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=_EHANT_DCAPR_247073

In summary the application was refused on the following points:

1. The site is located on a Greenfield site outside the Settlement Policy boundary for Bentley.
2. The development would not represent a small scale development in a Level 4 village, with limited local facilities.
3. The proposed access design strategy relating to both Hole Lane and School Lane is inadequate to accommodate the development safely.

4.The Local Planning Authority, cannot be satisfied that the development would not lead to recreational disturbance of the Thames Basin Heaths Heaths Special Protection Area

5. Fails to respect the low key tranquil nature of the rural area and the landscape character objectives for the Northern Wey Valley. Fails to conserve the rural character of the local area and the amenity of users of the public footpath across the site.
6. The Local Planning Authority, having regard to the requirements under which a European Protected Species licence is granted by Natural England, remains doubtful that the development would meet the three derogation tests.

There had been some social media speculation that the loss of water in the pond was the direct result of the remedial dredging work that was carried out at the end of last year. The purpose of this work was to remove the thick layer of silt that had built up and to put it on the banks to create a more interesting and wildlife-friendly environment. We believed this work had been successfully carried out, but then the drought arrived meaning the pond received little water inflow since March.

The surface layer of the bottom of the pond dried out and cracked and it appeared to onlookers that this was the cause of the water apparently leaking away. The contractors assured us that nothing they had done would have resulted in this. However, the social media speculation was advancing the theory that this was an ancient puddled clay pond and this leak proof layer had been removed in the dredging operation.

Puddled clay is in effect a natural waterproof liner that was indeed used by man over the centuries to create many artificial ponds in our agricultural and village landscapes. These are made by using natural valley and damming it or a hollow is dug by hand. The bottom is lined by clay imported from elsewhere. Typically, it was trampled by foot to spread out the layer and provide the water seal to prevent leakage. Such puddled clay would appear as a distinct 100-200 mm layer if the bed of the pond was investigated.

Therefore, we resolved to try and examine this possibility in a bit more detail. On Wednesday 12th August (luckily only hours before the rain arrived) a soil investigation of the pond bottom was carried out.

There was a residual layer of more than 50 mm of silt which in the high points had clearly dried out with large 10mm cracks. In lower areas of the pond there were deeper layers of silt but effectively little water was left.

Examination of the dredged material and the residual silt layer showed it did not contain clay and was a soil/organic constituency and not capable of providing a waterproof seal. Therefore, any waterproof layer had to be beneath this in the bed of the pond.

With expert geologists guidance a test pit was dug which revealed at least a 500 mm deep layer of gravel with no evidence of any clay. This proved very difficult to dig through and contained heavy flint content suggesting it had not been artificially created. This is most likely undisturbed ground in effect a natural river bed deposit from when the Wey river was a much larger ice age outflow.

There was no clay identified in this pit and it proved impossible to hand drive a probe to greater depth. The geological maps for the area do indicate there is a lower level clay bed which will prevent the water draining vertically. In this situation water may permeate slowly through the gravel horizontally but in the main the water runs off the surface into ditches which then flow downhill to the river. The soil at this depth was grey/blue coloured which lost colour on exposure to the air. This indicates an aerobic environment and is significant in that it indicates there is not significant water flow drainage through the gravel.

Thus in normal weather conditions water flows from the brook, through the pond to overflow. Water is held back in the pond by a dam in the outlet. Therefore we are sure that the loss of water level in the pond is entirely a result of the drought. As clay dries out in drought mainly as a function of trees extracting water, the water table will begin to drop. The drop in the water table then means that the water may slowly drain away through the gravel. Normally the continuous water flow in from the brook guarantees a surplus of water.

On Wednesday and Thursday the effect of a rainfall ( only about 30mm of rain) was enough to establish 150mm of water in the pond which has not immediately drained away. This proves that it does not take much rain to establish a good pond level. So, the water holding capacity of the pond is still intact and the wildlife can recover.

We are reasonably confident this drought is an extreme situation but will see what happens in future. If this phenomenon becomes a more regular event we have a few contingency ideas to mitigate a repeat. However, at the moment we are hoping this scenario will be unlikely in spite of climate change concerns.

East Hampshire District Council has identified a site in Whitehill & Bordon for large scale development.

The site will deliver up to 1,300 additional homes, totalling approximately 4,350 homes overall as part of the town’s transformation into a Green, Healthy and Connected town.

The decision has been made following the council’s Large Development Sites consultation held in 2019, which put ten sites to public comment.

Except for the land at Whitehill & Bordon, none of the other large development sites considered in the recent Local Plan consultation are technically ready for allocation.

Therefore, instead of allocating another large development site in the district, the council intends to identify a ‘broad area of search’ along the A31 corridor.

The allocation of a Large Development Site is a major part of EHDC’s Local Plan, a document that sets out the priorities and policies for development in areas of the district outside the South Downs National Park.

An up-to-date Local Plan is a vital tool in the council’s armoury against speculative development.

The further work on sites around the A31 will take time, so identifying a broad area of search, rather than a specific site, allows the council to make progress on the Local Plan.

Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “To have a completed Local Plan we need to have a clear idea of where future development will go.

“We have been able to do that in Whitehill & Bordon but there is still work to do to identify another site.

“We are confident that we will be able to allocate suitable land along the A31 in a future Local Plan and by committing to investigating this further we can get on with working on the rest of the plan.

“Delaying the Local Plan would risk opening our district up to speculative development. Taking this approach means we can move forwards with the plan without a risky delay.”

Whitehill & Bordon Prince Philip Park

EHDC has identified a site in Prince Philip Park for the development of up to 1,300 homes. This is part of the ongoing transformation of Whitehill & Bordon into a Green, Healthy and Connected town. This award-winning project sees additional residential and employment-related development bringing with it the infrastructure required to make the town a place where families can live and work.

It is anticipated that the regeneration will see 4,350 new homes and 5,500 new jobs. This development would deliver up to 1,300 of those homes and a significant number of jobs and follows the development strategy envisaged by the council’s existing Local Plan.

Work must also be done to ensure the protection of habitats and species that are of international importance. Through the provision of new areas of natural greenspace and related initiatives, it is possible to avoid any significant adverse impacts. Work is on-going between the council, Natural England and the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company to investigate this matter in detail.

The broad area of search along the A31

A broad area of search is a wide geographical area, often larger than a settlement and perhaps roughly defined by landscape features such as valleys or other landforms. In this case the council and its partners will be looking at seven sites along the A31 corridor proposed during the Large Development Sites Consultation. Each site has its own benefits and comes with its own issues that need to be resolved. A lot of work is still to be done to evaluate the different options but by identifying this broad area of search, work on other areas of the plan can also progress.

As part of the development of East Hants District Council’s Local Plan the District Council are currently carrying out a consultation on large development sites. These are sites for 600 or more new homes. EHDC are looking for large sites to provide approximately 2000 new homes within the District but outside the South Downs National Park in the period up to 2036.

The initial consultation on the EHDC Local Plan included two large sites at Northbrook Park and Whitehill and Borden. The current large development site consultation extends to further 8 sites with the aim of gathering evidence to inform the inclusion of particular sites in the Local Plan. The public is being asked for comments on all 10 sites.

The link to the consultation document is below and includes instructions on how to make comments. The consultation period runs to 15th October 2019. Bentley Parish Council intends to submit comments on the Northbrook proposal.

http://www.easthants.gov.uk/large-development-sites-consultation