Thousands sign up to stop new homes for Hayling Island
PROTEST Hayling Island
ALMOST 3,000 people have signed a petition to try to stop hundreds of homes being built on Hayling Island.
The petition calls for a review of Havant Borough Council’s decision to allocate 527 new homes to Hayling by 2026.
The homes are part of the council’s ‘core strategy’ plans which set out an overall 15-year housing target of 6,300 new homes to be built in the borough.
Residents in Hayling are trying to force the council to take another look at the figure and instead only allow development on previously developed brownfield sites, back gardens and sites where houses are demolished and replaced with several homes.
Paul Fisher, chairman of Hayling Island Residents Association, who, along with the island’s Community Board, is spearheading the campaign, said those previously developed sites alone would generate around 500 new homes over the next 15 years and the island simply could not take any more.
Mr Fisher said: ‘So far we have 2,820 signatures which is pretty incredible. We are hoping to get as many as 4,000.
‘That is the strength of feeling on the island. Petitions now have much greater power than they used to and we needed 2,500 to trigger a debate about the issue by the local authority.
‘They must review this figure of 597 new homes by 2026 because Hayling simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with that amount. The roads will not be able to cope, the sewerage system won’t be able to cope and neither will the health centre.
‘There will come a point when there will be so many people here, the infrastructure will be overloaded and it won’t be a feasible place for residents or visitors.’
Mr Fisher plans to continue collecting signatures until the end of September and will hand the petition into the council on October 5.
Andrew Biltcliffe, the council’s acting planning policy and urban design manager, admitted there was a need for improved health care on the island but added: ‘There is a real need for new homes to meet the requirements of our changing population in each of the five areas of the borough.
‘The core strategy only identified the overall potential for new homes – it does not identify the specific sites. The council will consult on the potential sites that will be shown in the allocations plan around the turn of the year.
‘The core strategy looked at infrastructure capacity in some detail and concluded that there is no significant reason why the proposed levels of housing should not be delivered.
A specific infrastructure issue that was identified on Hayling Island was for improved healthcare services.
This will be considered in the allocations plan work.’
He said due to the national economic situation, it was a possibility that the only way to fund improvements to infrastructure would be through funding brought in from developers.
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Weather for Hayling
Thursday 24 May 2012
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Comments
There are 10 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
haylingsnapper
Friday, August 5, 2011 at 03:20 PMI am pretty brassed off that the Islander has printed such an inflammatory headline. The petition I signed is to request that our infrastructure is properly examined in the light of the housing required, not to stop any houses being built here. Not c'cause I'm a NIMBY but because the developers want to dig up our green fields and bung a load of houses on them. HBC leaves old tumbledown buildings in situ to deteriorate further rather than redevelop them. All in the name of progress. Yeah right! Young people can't afford to buy houses all over the UK, not just here because of the greed of those in the property business inflating property prices out of all proportion.
RozMarie
Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 11:04 PMNothing but GREED on the council's part. Some people want t live quietly and isolated and in a relatively small community where they can breathe - then the council has other plans. LEAVE THE BLOODY ISLAND ALONE. I feel strongly as i grew up on the island and count my lucky stars I was. Love to move back someday
MurF
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 01:03 PMAs I use the Health Service all the time on Hayling, and quite a lot over the last two years, I cant see how 500 odd houses will cause an overload.... I can always get an appointment when required... and never really have to wait! As for the roads on and off the island, 500odd houses wont change a thing, as it's already overloaded! No problrms with the sewerage system either! What next? Paul Fisher will probably discover a yeti living near tournerabury and will claim that an endangered speicies is going to be effected! What Havant council need to listen to isn't the rants of Paul Fisher, but the young people who will be living on the Island in 30-40 years time. Mind you you probably wont find any!
PompeyWallasey
Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 08:28 AMNIMBYs!
Yocal
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 10:06 PMI find it strange that HBC would allow 527 homes to be built on the island, presumably on green space. But have a map (which is probably illegal) that shows that wind turbines are 'banned' on the island, despite the fact that it's the best location in the area for winds. Why 527 homes OK, but wind turbines not?------------ 527 homes will help to increase carbon emissions on the island, but a wind turbine or two would reduce them.
Monty Mustard
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 08:31 PMAmazing - Paul Fisher would not support the local residents of Sinah Lane when they opposed a building application there, but here he is claiming to be a man of the people. No wonder he is called Mr Huff & Puff. Griffon is quite right. Other areas of Havant are taking their share of the housing quota. So should Hayling Island.
griffon
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 07:25 PMIs Paul Fisher the only chairman Hayling Residents Association has ever had? Here's some feedback from the rest of Havant-we don't want new houses either but we're getting them, like it or lump it.
Sam_of_Hayling
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 05:40 PMI signed the petition and am against any building of new houses on greenfield sites on Hayling.
Alice Wymark
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 04:03 PMI believe if these extra homes are to be built on Hayling, adequate provision needs to be made for key services to be provided for the extra residents. All to often extra homes are built but health services, schools and transport links aren't improved. We need to fight with the borough council against these properties unless these vital services are included in any planning application..
morris.james.100
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 at 01:55 PMIt is all very well people signing a petition against new homes but there is a national shortage of homes for our young people to live in. Do parents on Hayling not want their sons and daughters to have the opportunity to buy their own property to live in on the island? It's all very well being "not in my back yard" about it, but the fact is we need these homes. The government don't appear to want to do anything about people owning second homes, so until that happens new properties are desperately required to home our young people.
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