"Interbridges West" proposals: EMP1.15  Quote from proposed modifications to local plan  suggested possible objections

A first public draft of the Emsworth Design statementy was exhibited at: International House, The Square, Emsworth on 11th and 12th February 2005. The full text (unfortunately without the pictures due to the time they would take to load) can be found HERE on the EDS website. There is also a form for submitting your comments, by 28th March please, alternatively email us: eds@emsworth-residents.co.uk with comments at any time.

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Jan 2005

Forms for commenting on the newly published Draft Havant Local Plan are now available HERE on the HBC website

The Hampshire Farm site will become a reserve site if Havant Borough Council have their way The HBC proposals have now been finalised and are available in the Revised Draft Local Plan. (this is a PDF file).  In order to view the list of reserve sites once you have the main file open in Acrobat you will need to go to page 84 on the Acrobat scale where you will find a description of 'reserve sites and a list of them in the borough. There is a clip of the main proposal here HERE

There are many other items in the local plan which are worth commenting on, The ERA planning sub committee are now studying the plan and preparing their response. Meantime please examine it yourself and let us know by email of any aspects that concern you.

The plan is still in draft form and subject to approval by Executive and full council. It is now officially open for public 'comment'  until 15th March 2005. Comments will have to be submitted on a special form obtainable from HBC.

Comments on the  Design Framework Exhibition

Traffic Survey conducted at Junction of Horndean Road and New Brighton Road. (seperate page PDF format)

Interbridges site: 3 November application WITHDRAWN  19 Oct environmental developments report of meeting 30 Sept 

Orchard Lane, Hermitage New entry 19th Oct,

Design Framework Exhibition (NOT to be confused with the EDS)

Bad Joke of a 'Consultation'

Location, planning and current situation. Planning applications: Latest Application, Planning History

Another Incursion into Chichester/Emsworth Strategic Gap

The Orchard Lane site covers an area of approx. 2 hectares in between Orchard Lane and Sadlers Walk (off Lumley Road) in the Parish of Southbourne in West Sussex. 

64 houses (with 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms) as well as flats are to be built by Kings Oak Homes Limited.

The proposed housing development constitutes an intrusion into the Chichester/ Emsworth Strategic Gap.

Outline Planning Permission for this development was given by Chichester District Council in 1998 and the land included in the Chichester District Local Plan 1999 allocated for housing.

Full Planning Consent was given in 2002.

The housing developer has a big sign up at the end of Sadlers Walk  and construction work has already started.

New surface water runoff system

According to the plans (see Planning History), the western area of the site will have an area of existing trees and shrubs reinforced with country species and a pond with a surface area of 810 m². This pond will be part of the Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) to be constructed and functions as a balancing pond. Surface water will run into the pond from the roads and parking areas made of permeable block paving. The pond will discharge into the Hermitage Stream, which in turn runs into Peter Pond. The whole system is controlled by penstock valves and non return valves and will be operated and maintained by a management company. Since Peter Pond is tidal and is silting up, it is difficult to keep the non return valves in Peter Pond operating properly to avoid water backing up.

Objections to this development

The residents of Lumley, and Lumley Road in particular, are very concerned about the surface water runoff from this site because it is already an area very prone to flooding.

The Environment Agency have been contacted by residents adjacent to the ditch who want assurances that the drainage system will be managed properly and will not increase the danger of flooding in this residential area.

Other concerns expressed by residents include:

Incursion into a Strategic Gap;

Safety (for children) of a large pond in a residential area;

The legal aspect: Who is liable, if properties are flooded?

Increased traffic onto the A259 especially at the junction with Lumley Road (Hermitage bridge);

The delicate ecological balance of Peter Pond and Slipper Mill Pond could be adversely affected.

ERA has been informed by HBC that it can now only object to this development on the grounds of, vehicle access and specification since planning consent has already been given by CDC.

For more information contact

Barbara Shepherd (resident): 01243 373302

Case Officer at Chichester District Council, Gale Pilkington: 01243 785166

Chichester District Council website has details of this application.

Latest on Interbridges 19th October 2004

There have been some developments on the environmental impact since the public meeting on 30th September.

Parnell designs in havant, who are the agents for the interbridges development, have asked if the Hampshire Wildlife Trust could do a survey of the site, since Havant Borough Council were insisting on a proper survey being done.

Report of Public Meeting about proposed industrial development on Interbridges site held on

30 September 2004

David Jones (Chairman of the Emsworth Resident’s Association) chaired the meeting which was attended by more than 90 people. On entering the meeting hall, each person was asked to fill in and sign a form stating their objections to/agreement with the planning application. This was organised by Peter Norvall.

Introduction by chairman of ERA

After opening the meeting, David Jones gave a very comprehensive explanation of what the planning application involved. There was then a break of about 5 minutes for people to look at the information provided.

Information about wildlife value of the site

Was provided by Brian Fellows (Chairman of the Brook Meadow Conservation Group) who said that a surveyor from Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (Hbic) in Winchester had carried out the planned plant survey that morning and was very impressed with the site. He found 70 flowering plants including 3 old meadow indicators. It was not known whether the site would be assigned SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation) status. This would have to wait for the report. Brian Fellows stressed the fact that this was a valuable habitat for wildlife and that the Brook Meadow Conservation Group, who manage Brook Meadow to the south east of the Interbridges site, would in principle be prepared to manage this site as well.

Comments and questions

A varied series of questions and comments were posed by about 20 people, some of whom spoke several times. The owner of the site, Viv Willaims, was present and was invited to put his opinion forward which he did in considerable detail. The general opinion at the meeting was strong objection to the proposed planning application on several grounds, including:

wildlife value of the site

development would create traffic chaos on New Brighton Road, North Street and Horndean Road with tailbacks especially in bad weather

proposed junction would exacerbate the hourglass effect

pedestrian traffic lights would be better south of railway bridge not in between two bridges

paid commuter car parking on the Interbridges site would not solve on-street parking problem by non residents in Sultan Road and Victoria Road

problem of height restriction for large vehicles

road between two bridges floods in bad weather, this will be a disaster if more large vehicles use it

restrictions set on prospective businesses can be waived once businesses have moved in

need for a comprehensive traffic survey for the whole of Emsworth

nuisance including noise and invasion of privacy from industrial development

concern about longer-term issues such as the planned industrial development on land between A27 and railway (6x larger in area) which would also have to be accessed through this junction on New Brighton Road and the possibility of the Hampshire Farm site being set aside as a reserve housing site for 250 houses

danger of development going further east onto land at back of Lumley Road

all this development would make the divide between North and South Emsworth even wider with people living north of the A27 going to do their shopping in Havant or Chichester because of traffic congestion going south into Emsworth town centre

fear that this development would destroy Emsworth’s unique character

industrial development should be confined to brownfield sites and this is a greenfield site

Emsworth does not want or need industrial development, there are plenty of brownfield sites in Havant which are either derelict or vacant

land owners/developers should not be driving the development of greenfield sites

Publicity for the previous planning application for 7 industrial units was questioned. This application was given approval in 2002 and managed to slip through relatively unnoticed. Evidence for this was supplied by a resident of Sultan Road who said that only one notice had gone up in Sultan Road and nowhere else and when she complained to HBC she was told this was adequate. It may be that this planning application which was turned down in 2001 was not adequately publicised by HBC when it was put in again in 2002. This meant that not many residents knew about it and so were unable to object.

Results of public meeting

A total of 82 forms were collected in at the end of the meeting and were taken to the case officer at HBC, Mrs Pinkney, on 1 October.

An additional 26 forms were collected by Peter Norvall and handed in a few days later.