Bramley Parish Council Noticeboard

Land south of Silchester Road, Bramley, Hampshire - Letter 21st October 2019

Parent Category: Notice Board

Category: Newsletter

Created on Monday, 21 October 2019 19:24

Last Updated on Monday, 21 October 2019 19:24

Published on Monday, 21 October 2019 19:24

Written by Parish Clerk

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BRAMLEY PARISH COUNCIL
Member of the Hampshire Association of Local Councils 

Clerk: Mrs Maxta Thomas, PO Box 6967, Tadley, RG24 4XG
Tel: 07810 692486
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This is a communication from Bramley Parish Council concerning the Open Forum being held by Manor Oak Homes on the 30^th October 2019 for the development of the land south of Silchester Road.

The circular from Manor Oak Homes states “This has been shared with the Parish Council and discussed at a meeting on the 22^nd July 2019”. The Parish Council feels that this infers that we support this application which is far from true.

The Parish Council met with Manor Oak Homes on the 22^nd July 2019 at the request of Manor Oak Homes to be presented with their plans for the land south of Silchester Road, the green field bordering the road near Tudor Close. We listened to their plans and responded with questions and points of view:-

• The land borders a conservation area
• What is the specific need for Bramley and how would it contribute to the community?
• The homes are a long distance from the shops and village centre
• There are few buses
• Bramley has suffered over-expansion with the 315 houses at present being built.
• Timing is convenient because of the failure of Basingstoke and Deane to meet the 5 year development land availability required by central government.
• The site fails the “sustainability” requirement without there being significant improvements in the infrastructure. It could only be accessed through car or poor bus service. For the proposed target market (elderly retirees) the walking distance to the only shop in Bramley is excessive.
• It was noted that the community has said that bungalows are desired. Bramley PC note that the market demand given was based on a much wider area, which would require relocation whereas the stated objective is to satisfy local market demand for downsizing without relocation. No market demand figures for Bramley were provided.

At no time did the Parish Council give the developer the support he was seeking.

His answers to our points and questions do not go any distance towards convincing the Parish Council at this stage that this is a development that will benefit Bramley. His response clearly showed that they had carried out little or no research into Bramley’s needs. This is in the opinion of the Parish Council an opportunistic venture attempting to capitalise on the Borough’s land supply deficiency. The “consultation” efforts are box ticking exercises.

Bramley, like other Parishes in the area, is open now to developers coming forward with land that can easily accommodate houses/bungalows that will contribute to the housing shortage of the Borough without any consideration to the detrimental impact they may have on the local community, stating as in this case that:-

“Application proposals are being brought forward now to respond to Basingstoke and Deane Council’s deficient 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites as the Council has fallen well short of achieving its housing requirement over the past three years which is expected to increase in the future. The Council is therefore in need of deliverable housing sites, particularly those which can be brought forward quickly, like this one to improve housing delivery”.

Bramley Parish Council will oppose development and challenge developers, the Borough Council, and County Council to demonstrate the sustainability of any proposals. Many small developments in Bramley have the same cumulative impact as one large development and that is being detrimental to the community as a whole affecting the quality of life of the existing community. Without major improvements to the Infrastructure in Bramley, improving the road and traffic problems, the sewerage infrastructure, the schooling, the community requirements for shops etc. then Bramley cannot take more, especially not just to accommodate Basingstoke and Deane’s shortfall in housing supply.

Bramley Parish Council will thoroughly assess the planning application for housing on the land south of Silchester Road when it is submitted, as it has for all past applications, and if it cannot be clearly demonstrated as being sustainable and is considered to be detrimental to the quality of life of the residents of Bramley, then we will robustly oppose any such applications for development.

We trust that this explains the position of the Parish Council, not just to this application, but to all applications that may be coming this way in the future. Go to the presentation and let Manor Oak Homes, Borough Councillors and planning officers know your opinions. As has been said so many times, Bramley Parish Council is but one voice. The loud voice of the residents is what the Parish Council, the Borough Council and Planning Officers have to take note of when judging applications.

If you wish to register an email address with the Parish Council for updates on this and other matters, please contact the Parish Clerk at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kindest regards          

On behalf of Bramley Parish Council

Attachments:

File	Description	File size	Last modified
BPC_response_Manor_Oak_leaflet_OCT2019.pdf		145 kB	Tue, 22 Oct 2019 11:28:59