The Waterfront Business Park in Fleet.
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Residents' fears over pond homes
By Stephen LloydJanuary 16, 2009
Worried residents have attacked plans to build more than 200 homes overlooking Fleet Pond.
Helical Bar (Fleet) Ltd wants to build the homes on land at Waterfront Park in Station Approach, Fleet.
But residents spoke out against the proposals during a public inquiry into the scheme.
Fleet Pond Society chairman Colin Gray warned the implications of the proposed development on Fleet Pond Nature Reserve and the adjoining site of special scientific interest were “significant”.
“There will be an unacceptable increase in disturbance from some 400 or more people, who, with the totally inadequate allocation of open space within the development site, will see Fleet Pond as their back garden,” said Mr Gray.
Hart district councillor Sharyn Wheale, whose Fleet Pondtail ward covers the site, warned the proposed 202-home development would have a “grave” impact on the surrounding area.
She pointed out that gardens of homes in the area are often flooded and warned a residential mix on the site would encourage vandalism, graffiti and other antisocial behaviour, especially at night and at weekends.
Fleet Pondtail resident Richard Pinchin said the proposals would result in an increase in traffic congestion along Fleet Road.
He added that many local residents have objected to the development because of inadequate parking and their concern that it will lead to overflow parking in nearby roads.
Fellow Pondtail resident David Healey warned there was no real space for children to play on the proposed development.
“Fleet Pond is, in my opinion, inadequate and inappropriate,” he warned. “Few parents would wish to leave youngsters to play in the vicinity of a large expanse of water.”
Mr Healey said surveys indicate the potential for more than 50 daily car trips on to and off junction 4a of the M3 in peak hours but the Highways Agency has stated that the junction is already at, or near, capacity.
“How can the Highways Agency continue to dump more and more traffic on to a junction that is at capacity by their own definition?” he asked.
Helical has secured land at Crondall Road in Crookham Village as Suitable Accessible Natural Green Space (SANGS) to overcome the effect the proposed development would have on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area — land protected because it is the habitat for a number of threatened birds.
But Mr Healey said he saw no evidence that the Crondall Road SANGS would work. “It is unlikely that the new residents will travel to the SANGS some two miles away, particularly when Fleet Pond is on their doorstep,” he added.
Craig Howell Williams, representing Helical, said it was accepted that the proposal conflicted with Hart’s Local Plan development blueprint, which identifies the appeal site as part of land suitable for high quality larger business uses.
But he said there is already a “substantial” over-supply of business floorspace in the area but a “severe” shortage of housing land in the district.
“There is a pressing need to release the appeal site for housing as soon as possible,” he added.
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