Have your say on development in the District and help us say NO to large new towns
Help us to stop over 8,000 houses at Micheldever
The new Local Plan – the housing and development blueprint for Winchester District
Winchester City Council has published details about the new Local Plan, the all-important policy document that when agreed will set out the sites that will accommodate the homes that need to be built across the district through to the year 2038.
The Government has instructed the Council that 14,000 dwellings should be built, roughly 700 per year.
The previous Local Plan has already identified where many of these homes will go, but the new Plan will make decisions on where the rest will be built. The Council is asking residents for their views on four possible options on how to meet this remaining target.
One of these, Option 3, is to meet the housing target by building a large new settlement on countryside in the district.
Micheldever new town – a very real threat
Option 3 puts the prospect of the new town at Micheldever squarely in the frame, and once again, our communities need to band together to see off this threat.
The owners and developers of the new town site at Micheldever Station are heavily promoting their plan - see their website. They are proposing to build a town the size of Petersfield or Romsey in the countryside surrounding Micheldever Station. The town would be huge, with upwards of 8,300 houses. It would be a disaster for the environment and would destroy our communities and 1,350 acres of countryside.
The Dever Society supports the Local Plan process and agrees with the need for new homes. Whichever option the Council eventually takes forward, the 14,000 new homes will be built. We strongly believe that brownfield and previously built on land should be developed before any greenfield sites are considered. Building a large new settlement and destroying swathes of pristine habitat forever would be an environmental travesty.
The Council’s overarching priority is its commitment to climate neutrality and sustainable development, and the new Local Plan is being prepared with this at the centre of its thinking. We need to make it clear to them that new towns in the middle of the countryside are the worst environmental option for accommodating Winchester’s housing needs. Here are some of the reasons why:
New towns need new roads, schools, health care, electricity, water, sewage and other carbon heavy services. Building these has major adverse implications for the environment and the Council’s carbon neutrality commitment.
Building on brownfield and previously developed land has a much lower impact on the environment.
Building on countryside degrades biodiversity by destroying and fragmenting habitats and causing noise, air and light pollution.
Green fields provide critical benefits such as water, food, flood control, leisure and carbon capture and storage. The disturbance caused by construction releases huge amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. And green fields are hugely important to people’s health and mental wellbeing, another Council priority.
New towns encourage car use and their layouts often work against walking and cycling. Even those near public transport invariably end up as car-dependent developments.
With massive and growing development on our doorstep at Basingstoke, it is crucial that this area remains as a green buffer if we are to avoid urban sprawl between Basingstoke and Winchester.
Please make your voice heard – deadline 12th April
If we are to stop Micheldever new town then the council needs to hear from as many people as possible that Option 3 is the WRONG option for the district. If the Council rejects Option 3 at this early stage of the Local Plan’s development, then the new town threat is greatly diminished. We need to act now!
How to respond
Tell the council that you do not support new towns in the countryside and that you therefore oppose Option 3.
This is the most important point to make.
If you want to make some points to back up your response, you could add in some of the six points above.
Please remember the following:
State that you are a Winchester District resident
Write your response in your own words – do not cut and paste!
Avoid making comments about the landowners or developers – however strongly we feel and whatever we think their motives are, the Council cannot take these into account – it can only take decisions based on planning and environmental grounds.
Where to send your response
The easiest way is to send an email with your objection to Option 3 to:
planningpolicy@winchester.gov.uk
In the subject line of your email, please state ‘Response to Strategic Issues and Priorities consultation’.
Or you can write to:
Local Plan Consultation
Winchester City Council
City Offices
Colebrook Street
Winchester
SO23 9LJ
Don’t forget, the deadline for responding is 12th April.
Winchester City Council has confirmed to us that they will take into account all responses, whether they are emailed, posted or submitted via their online questionnaire at localplan.winchester.gov.uk