HORNDEAN Parish Council members are to give their opinions on a new planning application for 800 homes on fields east of the village.
The revised application by Bloor Homes will be looked at during the council’s planning and public services committee public meeting on Monday, January 14, in Jubilee Hall off Crouch Lane, starting at 6.30pm.
Three years ago members supported a similar proposal for just 700 houses, for which outline planning permission was approved by East Hampshire District Council planners.
The new application, which cost Bloor Homes £83,000 in fees to submit, is similar in most respects to the earlier one, except there are now 800 houses.
The increase in homes has come about after technical surveys of the proposed development area revealed more of the land could be built on than first thought.
Also changed is the position of the proposed school, community building and most of the shops, restaurants, takeaways, cafes and bars – they have been moved to a more central position to form a ‘heart’ to the development.
In a letter to planners Lindsay Goodyear, associate director at planning specialists Terence O’Rourke of Bournemouth, said the developers were working to move the project forward quickly.
She said: “Bloor Homes has submitted an outline application to facilitate the delivery of this important site as promptly as possible.
“The fundamental principles of the application remain the same as the lapsed one.
“However, with the benefit of technical work and additional information, Bloor Homes has moved forward with a refreshed outline application in the interests of deliverability.”
The new application doesn’t go into detail about access to and from the proposed estate, which will also contain businesses units.
It says: “Outline planning permission application with all matters reserved, except the means of access to the highway network (junction arrangements) and associated highway improvements.”
The development is expected to be linked to the B1249 Horndean to Rowlands Castle road.
The impact of the increased traffic on the road, and on both villages, is a topic some residents claim hasn’t been addressed fully.
This is a view that is supported indirectly by Beata Ginn of Highways England – the organisation which is responsible for the A3(M) junction at Horndean.
In a letter to planners she said: “It is unclear whether a full transport assessment has been carried out.
“We would ask that the authority does not determine the application, other than a refusal, ahead of us receiving and responding to the required information.”