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Sport facilities fail to sweeten deal for new homes

By Stephen Lloyd
February 21, 2013

PROMISES of a cricket ground and junior football pitch as part of plans to build 158 new homes have failed to sweeten villagers.

Developer Barratt Southern Counties said the facilities would be part of phase two of its 174-home St Mary’s Park development in Dilly Lane, Hartley Wintney.

Barratt hopes to start on the proposed development, which is awaiting planning permission, immediately after it finishes work on the first phase this year.

The developer plans to build a new cricket ground of a size and standard to enable the village team to play at the highest level in Hampshire.

It added junior football is flourishing in the village and would benefit from an additional pitch.

Barratt said it had carried out pre-application discussions with council officers and other organisations including Hartley Wintney Parish Council, Natural England, the local community and the doctors’ surgery.

But the scheme has come under fire from residents. Among them is Christine Toms, chairman of Hartley Wintney Action Group which opposed the initial development of Dilly Lane. She said at the appeal into the initial development, the group had warned coalescence would occur.

“A phase two was never mentioned,” she added. “This application has been rushed, is not well thought through and is very poorly constructed. Traffic from the initial site and the proposed site will be exiting onto Dilly Lane and then disperse via country lanes, Mitchell Avenue or via the traffic lights at the junction with the A30 which is a sub-standard junction. The transport infrastructure is not adequate to cope with this and was not previously.

“There has been a weakened commitment to infrastructure.

“It is, in my opinion, a valid reason for refusal in this case and a suggestion that the designers go back to the drawing board and consider a solution which would not create further traffic mayhem for Hartley Wintney and the current residents of phase one of the Dilly Lane development.”

Mrs Toms is also concerned about the affect the proposed development would have on health care after Hartley Wintney Action Group was told that the surgery would not be able to cope with such a development.

The scheme has been criticised by the parish council and the Environment Agency, which has objected due to the absence of an acceptable flood risk assessment.

“The applicant has not demonstrated that the discharge volume of surface water run-off from the proposed development will not exceed that of the existing site,” it warned.

“They have also not demonstrated that any surface water flooding from the proposed development will be safely contained on site, up to and including a one-in-100-year storm with allowance for climate change.

“This may increase the flood risk both on site and in surrounding areas.”

Barratt has now entered into a planning performance agreement with Hart, which allows them more time to draw up amended plans.

The revised scheme is set to go before the council’s planning committee on March 13.

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Most recent user comments 2 of 2

S.B. you are missing the point - it says " a ground of size and standard to enable the village team to play at the highest level..." The old pitch is too small - hence balls hit through neighbouring cottage windows! A new pitch and more affordable homes in HW are badly needed for local people.

Pond-life, Fleet
22/02/2013 at 17:01

Classic case of failing to understand the target, Hartley Witney has one of the sweetest cricket grounds in the area, my son played many a match there as a youth player (not for Hartley Witney he played against them) and loved the challenge of smacking the ball up to the cottages at the top. On more that one occasion he managed to hit them. So trying to bribe them with a new cricket pitch is pointless