Message from Steve Brine MP
Eastleigh Borough Council Local Plan is a saga that has dragged on for many years while neighbouring local authorities (including Winchester in the other part of my constituency) have theirs signed off.
Now, the council is finally running its “Issues and Options” consultation – until 17th February – which will eventually lead to a plan that maps out future development right across the Borough.
Up to 20,000 houses could be built by 2036 so the implications of this plan will be huge all Borough residents, including my constituents in Chandler’s Ford.
Your local councillors, who I met up with on Friday for an update on Chandler’s Ford issues, inform me the council has planned eight exhibitions whereby residents can comment on the drafts plans and help shape them.
However, that DOES NOT include Chandler’s Ford which is quite wrong given the scale of development planned which will affect ALL of us with the increasing pressures on infrastructure – motorways, roads, schools, GP surgeries etc.
This special Chandler’s Ford Post Lite (download it here as PDF) is being distributed as we speak and I would urge you to email Borough and County Councillor, Judith Grajewski, if you want to join our call for future Local Plan exhibitions to include Chandler’s Ford.
Judith is reached via judith.grajewski@eastleigh.
I hope this is useful.
Steve Brine MP
Website: Steve Brine MP | Local News
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What a shame to see Chandler’s Ford Today become political, it seemed to me that this was a way for local people to get a voice regardless of politics. I expect you will have to allow all the other parties the right to reply and the bombarding will begin. Not to declare an interest but just to say I deliver the Lib Dem Focus so maybe I should be grateful and hope this method of politicking will catch on and I will be saved a task!
Can I just say that I was the one who alerted our lovely editor at Chandler’s Ford Today to this piece of news and it is hugely relevant for local people. There was no political intent behind it at all.
The wish was just to let people know the Local Plan is “out there” but for some reason there is no “exhibition” of it in Chandler’s Ford. That is an odd decision given how many people live here. It is an odd decision regardless of how people vote (or indeed if they do at all). The Local Plan obviously affects us here so it is quite important to keep people informed of it.
This really was just an information exercise.
The huge advantage in flagging this piece of news up is it now alerts people in Chandler’s Ford (or at least those who follow this website) so they can go elsewhere in the Borough to look at the Plan if they want to but they do have to know about this first!
And given CFT is a community website, all sorts of interests, including political news, will be covered by it.
If it is any consolation to you, Mr Child, had it been a Lib Dem MP who had alerted me to this news, I would still have let the editor know. There is no intention of bias at all here. I can’t stress that enough.
Perhaps I should have added more details of the exhibition venues, to put the news into context.
Eastleigh Borough Council: Local Plan Roadshows
From the 15th to the end of January, Eastleigh Local Plan exhibition venues include:
Eastleigh House (Friday 15th January), Fair Oak, Hamble, Bishopstoke, Botley, Allbrook, West End, and Hedge End.
Dear Steve, with all due respect the Eastleigh local plan continues to be driven and influenced by the county council via PUSH and central government; to support your party’s national housing agenda, which includes the failed EU open doors immigration policy. EBC is more than happy to comply with its ex-coalition partner ably led by its leader and understood to be a good friend and supporter of the Conservatives. The Elphicke-House Report is an interesting read!
Yours Cllr Lyon
If the piece had been written by John Bull instead of Steve Brine MP no one would have considered it political. It just contains information, no political opinions.
Steve Brine is carrying out his duty to represent the interests of ALL members of his constituency, not just those who voted for him. IMHO this is all part of the democratic process. There is nothing political in his message.
It does seem odd that there is no exhibition in Chandler’s Ford.
Message received from Eastleigh Borough Council:
It’s useful to know from EBC why they’re holding the exhibitions where they are but I still think it a bit odd the Local Plan isn’t being shown around Chandler’s Ford. Despite not being near a potential development area, CF is a major part of the Borough of Eastleigh after all. And it would make it easier for those interested to see the Plan without having to go elsewhere in the Borough to do so. Also development areas do seem to have a habit of expanding! (Valley Park, Knightwood etc). Just a thought.
I am inclined to agree with Allison (above). I would have been interested to see the plans. Surely it is not too late to seek a venue in Chandler’s Ford to display them?
I dropped an email to EBC on Wednesday and on Thursday I received the following, hope it helps.
Dear Mr Child,
Thank you for your email. In the past we have undertaken staffed exhibitions in each of the parishes in support of Local Plan consultations. This is a huge investment in officer time (which is appropriate, given the importance of the subject and the need to engage) but has not always lead to the best use of resources. Some exhibitions have been much better attended than others.
The adopted Statement of Community involvement states “where proposals are limited in their impacts, for example in the case of a partial review of the Local Plan, exhibitions will only be held in the areas affected”. Whilst this is not a partial review of the Plan and will cover the whole of the Borough, the strategic options (which is what we are discussing at this stage) are not in each location – for instance, Chandler’s Ford and Bursledon CP do not have significant options being put forward for consultation, though of course the new Local Plan is potentially of interest to all residents.
The venues were selected primarily on the basis of proximity to strategic locations in the consultation. That means that we do not have one event for each parish, but I hope that the 8 events scheduled (including evenings and three Saturdays) means that everyone with an interest has an opportunity to attend at least one event which suits them. The next nearest event to Chandler’s Ford is in Allbrook Hill on Saturday 23 January, 10am until 4pm. Please find further details of the exhibitions being held in the attached document.
There is the need to balance the availability of resources – crucially, we only have a limited number of officers who have the technical understanding to usefully run these events – against the understandable desire to be seen to be in each parish. This has led to the programme of events we have advertised. Therefore I hope you will understand why we have been reluctant to arrange additional events. If you require any further information please contact us.
Kind regards
Tracy
Tracy Haskett (Planning)
Planning Officer
Regeneration and Planning Policy
Eastleigh Borough Council | Eastleigh House | Upper Market Street | Eastleigh | SO50 9YN
eastleigh.gov.uk
@EastleighBC
—–Original Message—–
From: Peter Child [mailto:p.child@ntlworld.com]
Sent: 20 January 2016 11:06
To: Local Plan
Subject: Consultation
Sir,
Is there a reason why Chandler’s Ford is not included in the list of places where the Proposed Plan will be exhibited? I believe that in the past it has been, and as this has such a large impact on the whole Borough it would seem logical to include Chandler’s Ford.
Peter J Child
p.child@ntlworld.com
Skype: pjchild