Almost a year after council officials first unveiled controversial plans to create a boardwalk linking the western end of the Island's beach with Eastoke Corner and revealed a complex of luxury apartments and new business premises for the tourism industry at Beachlands – along with a new-look amusement park set inside large plastic bubbles – the main elements have been incorporated into the borough's Local Development Framework.
It promises that any development will "achieve high quality design," and encourage "year-round provision of tourism, recreation and leisure facilities will be improved."
The aim will be to "encourage and support the short-stay visitor market."
The LDF is the council's long-term planning blueprint and defies what many critics had been predicting since the autumn that the ambitious Masterplan - which also called for major landscaping of the shoreline, a new plaza-styled entrance to the Island at the Ferry Boat Inn, and the replacement of the Inn on the Beach pub with a new national watersports centre – would be killed off by the credit crunch.
One senior district councillor representing Hayling West even confided privately to the Islander just two weeks before the council unveiled its Core Strategy that he had personally "seen off the majority of the Masterplan," claiming that conflicts with the seafront's status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) meant the most of the ideas were virtually dead in the water.
Yet the new blueprint shows HBC is definitely serious about seeing a reverse in the long-term decline of Hayling as a tourist destination.
With long range weather forecasts issued on May 1, as we went to press, predicting three months of above average seasonal temperatures – adding to optimisim that the recession will see people flocking back to seaside resorts instead of holidaying abroad in 2009, traders are hoping to end two years of miserable results.
Now the council wants see "mixed use" development at three defined "hubs" at West Beach, Central Beachlands and Eastoke Corner.
Ironically, only last month the Islander revealed that the council had gone back on its word to complete phase two of the Eastoke Corner plan, which saw the new plaza built two years ago, throwing out plans to improve the road and pedestrian areas in favour of sculpture trial, which councillors and residents are horrified by.
The new Masterplan will see
- More tourist accommodation
- New "extreme watersports" facilities for kite and windsurfers
- Improved facilities for bathers and better beach huts
- A boardwalk linking the three areas
- Improved tourist information
- A revamed funfair and new homes to pay for all the improvements
The council acknowledges there are environmental considerations and concerns about habitat for flora and fauna as well as problems associated with flooding and erosion, and transport issues.
But it pledges to preserve the green infrastructure at Beachlands and retain the open spaces as "a window on the Solent." Better disabled access to the beach from the proposed boardwalk is also promised.
Any new development will pay full regard to any environmental impact and nature designations and will, where possible, avoid flood risk areas.
If the latter is unavoidable, "flood mitigation will be fully incorporated in the layout and design."
The council is keen to knock down the Inn on the Beach as experts believe it adds to the problems of coastal erosion.
A new watersports centre would be set further back in the same area of the beach, as unveiled in last year's plans.
Havant Borough Council is the primary landowner in the Beachlands and Eastoke Corner areas – apart from the family that own the funfair and both parties are keen to redevelop and enhance the seafront.
No timetable has been included for the seafront's redevelopment and admits that "proposals may come forward at different times."
The council carried out a consultation exercise on the Masterplan last summer but those results have not been published.
The full Core Strategy – which also identifies eight other key sites in the borough, including Leigh Park and the area west of Waterlooville and east of Denmead as being key to Havant's future prosperity – is available on line at www.havant.gov.uk
