Dear Supporter
May I thank all of you who have responded to our ongoing postcard campaign with donations and offers of help – these are much appreciated and show the increasing strength of our support in and around Winchester.
You may have heard that Cala Homes has submitted a formal planning application to Winchester City Council to develop Barton Farm – this is in advance of the Public Inquiry which has been put back to June 2004. We therefore need to oppose the proposed development not just at the Public Inquiry BUT NOW!!
What are we asking you to do?
We need as many objections as possible to Cala’s planning application but treat this as a “normal” planning application rather than a precursor to the Public Inquiry. Please write to the City Council’s Planning Department setting out your objections. The Council takes the following into account when reaching planning decisions:
- the District Local Plan and County Structure Plan policies
- Government guidance
- case law and previous decisions
- effect on the enjoyment of neighbouring properties
- design, appearance, scale and layout
- conservation of the built and natural environment
- highway safety and traffic
However, the following are irrelevant in reaching planning decisions:
- loss of view over other people’s land
- effect on the value of property
- possible future development
- developer’s motives
- private property rights (e.g. boundaries or access)
- matters covered by other laws, e.g. alcohol licences
Your objection(s) should quote the planning application number – 04/00289/OUT and should be sent to the City Council before 13 April 2004 at the address below:
Director of Development Services
Winchester City Council, Avalon House
Chesil Street, Winchester
SO23 0HU Tel: 01962 848177 / 848293 Email: planning@winchester.gov.uk
It is important that as many people as possible lodge an objection against the application and to help you we list below some comments you may wish to make:
- It is inconsistent with the requirements of the Winchester District Local Plan
- The 1997 Local Plan threw out a similar application but for only 450 homes
- The local road network cannot support the proposed size of the development
- Local amenities would be overwhelmed, for example, the train service to Waterloo
- The development would forever destroy Winchester’s essential landscape character
- A valuable recreational amenity would be lost for the people of Winchester
- The development would increase the already high levels of pollution in Winchester
These are just some examples – we are sure you can think of many more but the important thing to remember is to ensure you send in your objection and that you get your family, friends, neighbours and anyone you know to do likewise – it is volume we are looking for at this stage rather than quality of objection.
Thank you for your continued support – we are more confident than ever that we can prevent this development from going ahead.
Gavin Blackman
Chairman