My name is Kayleigh, I have been a resident of Knowle Village for nearly 5 years.  

As we are all aware, Welbourne has been on the cards for over 20 years. Now the building works are in full swing, we are seeing what the developers intend to build around our small village and the impact it will have on us. It was only through the planning application in 2019 that it became clear what the developers had planned for our main access in and out of Knowle. It has been confirmed that a new roundabout is to be put in place around March 2024, to give access to the north and south of the new development. Eventually this means Knowle Road will be narrowed and turned into a street/ "tree lined" avenue.  During this process although we will not lose complete access to this road, we will be restricted during the changes that the developers are intending, but we will have options to exit via the new roundabout and estate, incurring a possible extra 2 minutes to our travel time. Bearing in mind the first phase includes up 600+ houses and also looks to be a narrow road, I cant help but wonder what impact this will also have to emergency services should they be required in the village. 

When entering Knowle the tree line is what greets you first, when I am coming home, this brings me a sense of peace, which many residents also feel and part of the reason for me moving to Knowle. Along with joggers, horse riders walkers and dog walkers to name a few, I frequently use the path along the south side of the road and have come to see this as an important wildlife corridor.

Unfortunately we are too late to save the north side of the road's tree line (as you are leaving the village, the field and tree line on the left) BUT we may have time to save/preserve the south side. As most will have seen along Wickham Road they have already removed the majority of hedgerow along there, and now we have seen how much they have removed to install the new roundabout. 

I really believe we need to preserve as much of the existing tree, hedge line and path, that we can. The developers will be removing 20+ years of growth and with turning Knowle Road into a "tree lined" avenue in the coming years, I can only see what the detrimental impact this is going to have on our wildlife and the character of the village. Knowle residents bought into the village concept, it was sold as Hampshires newest village. Now to destroy our tree line is a step too far. The green spaces they are removing are greater than the green spaces they are implementing. 

I previously put up a poll on the Knowle Information page and received a positive response to try and protect our wildlife corridor and road. Whilst the plans for the first phase of Welbourne are underway, I want to engage with the residents of Knowle and developers on the future phases and protection of our wildlife and tree lined road and Knowle Village as much as possible. Residents have always had a voice, but now I need your support to so we stand united and our voices are heard and our comments are taken on board and not disregarded. 

I would like to say thank you to Karl and Robbie who has provided me with the top left hand photo of the original road prior to all the tree life and thank you for your support.