The planning hearing will take place 2nd October at 10am in the Committee room of the BCP civic annexe. There will be an overflow room with a screen if the committee room is full.

To my dismay, the horses have disappeared from their field. Could this be an attempt by TVT to support a planning decision in their favour, by removing tenants from the farm? Less to lose? I miss them on my walks and I feel distraught at the prospect that these animals may never return. They were such an asset to this space.

The fundamental facts around this application remain the same. Wallisdown Road is already a heavily-polluted, over-burdened road. It is part of the school run for many families, and part of the daily commute for many people. It is not designed for the level of traffic passing through it each day, already. More than a thousand extra daily journeys seems unfathomable in these circumstances, and yet, here is a healthcare organisation and landlord, TVT, promoting the very same.

The closer development gets to Talbot Heath, the more it will suffer. How are we supposed to assume that Nuffield Health really cares about people’s health, when it doesn’t care about this natural environment, or the added pollution it will cause on an already polluted road? And what about the innovation quarter, also included in the application? In age of increased remote working, can it really be justified, let alone justify the removal of Highmoor Farm? No, in my opinion.

Anyone who has walked in this place knows how beautiful and special it is: a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Nuffield Health may not, as they have stated, want to build on the part of the farm closest to the Heath, but it doesn’t matter - this would become a Heathland Support Area (if the application were successful). It is extremely likely that biodiversity would suffer if the HSA goes ahead. If the buffer zone rules for heathland were to be removed, in future, development could allowed here too. In an age when the government’s desire to protect the environment appears to be dwindling, this isn’t such a far-fetched scenario after all. A slippery slope. It must be nipped in the bud, and the application rejected. We must pay more attention to saving what is precious and what we really need.

#savehighmoorfarm