FOUR MARKS AND MEDSTEAD RESIDENTS SHOW UNITY AGAINST LARGE DEVELOPMENT SITE PROPOSALS

250 residents packed the Four Marks Village Hall on Sunday 8th October to hear from their elected representatives concerning the potential to site up to1300 new dwellings on two of the four sites identified by EHDC within our two villages.  District and Parish Councillors talked about the emerging Local Plan and these proposals, and the implications – the impact of which which could change these parishes forever with loss of countryside and village character.

The chair of the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, Nick Stenning led the meeting and took questions from a concerned and worried community.

Four Marks and Medstead have been in the firing line for housing development over the past 8 years. Whilst the existing Local Plan identified the building of at least 175 houses, in these 2 villages up until 2028; the reality has been that nearly 600 have been built here (including over 175 “affordable” dwellings). ‘The prospect of another 1300 would ruin the villages forever’ said one resident. Whilst others cited the lack of infrastructure to support such schemes and the exponential increase in cars with their accompanying negative impact on climate change, congestion, and pollution. Being a semi-rural community, cars are essential for residents to survive as most jobs and services lie outside the villages. (All questions raised at the meeting with responses are published on the SMASH website.)

East Hampshire District Council are currently developing a new Local Plan. One of their strategies for new housing is to build large scale estates >650 dwellings. However, 57% of the land in East Hampshire is occupied by the South Downs National Park which has significant building restrictions. This results in 82% of the EH’s housing allocation, having to be sited in the remaining 43% of the region. This puts huge pressure to build in the countryside and inevitably impacts the character and way of life of EH’s beautiful rural villages. Cllr Millard the Leader of the Council has been quoted as saying he wants to see the ‘right houses in the right places’ and ‘a line on a map should not determine where houses are sited’ He believes that the SDNP should be encouraged to take more houses. To date however he has had little success with his goal to change this.

The community meeting was sponsored by two local resident groups SMASH (Stand with Medstead Against Speculative Housing) and Fight4FourMarks. Their role has been to challenge planning applications, (where applicable) including large sites, hold Developers and the Council to account, keep the community informed and where necessary, mobilise them into action.

It was clear from the outcome of this meeting that many residents have had enough and want EHDC to listen to their concerns. They believe that Four Marks & Medstead have taken more than their fair share of the housing numbers over the past 8 years, with very little improvement in facilities or infrastructure. Going forward, many believe that, only limited house building is required and that this should be focused on the local need only.  

One CommUNITY are ready to come out fighting to deter inappropriate, unsustainable developments that will impact their villages and change their character forever. Together we can excel.

Next steps - Everyone was encouraged to sign the SMASH petition against Large Scale Developments in the 2 villages. Currently it has over 3,330 signatures (representing 45% of the FMM population) The aim is to reach 5000 which would represent 66% of the FMM population. In addition, to put in writing their concerns to District & Parish Councillors and Damian Hinds the MP for East Hampshire.

To sign the SMASH petition (links on website) and obtain further information and contact addresses go to http://www.smashonline.co.uk and www.fight4fourmarks.co.uk