The Bombardment of Speculative Housing applications begins - read more!
East Hampshire District Council were found wanting at a recent housing appeal enquiry in Four Marks which revealed that their housing land supply numbers had fallen below the 4 years (4YHLS) minimum as required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Dec 2023.
Without a 4YHLS the dreaded 'tilted balance' is engaged. This means that unless EHDC can show that the adverse impacts of a proposal 'significantly and demonstrably' outweigh the benefits, then the application should be permitted.
This effectively gives developers a huge advantage and greatly reduces EHDC's planning control.
For EHDC the 4YHLS is currently at 3.59 years. For the next 18 months both Medstead and Four Marks will be very vulnerable to speculative applications (as will the rest of East Hampshire outside the South Downs National Park for that matter).
Today, we have seen two speculative applications submitted onto the planning portal, namely, 27000/005 for 53 dwelling at 61 Lymington Bottom Road and 55318/001 Land west of Beechlands Road for 70 dwellings. You can find links to these applications on our website link below.
Since 2016, there have been 287 dwellings built in the southern part of Medstead with another 67 approved or under construction now. If all speculative applications (that we currently know of) in addition to the sites allocated in the Draft Local Plan are approved then another 326 could be built in Medstead alone.
This would represent an increase in dwellings of 180% since 2016, which is totally disproportionate for one small village.
Similarly in Four Marks two applications have recently been approved, one in Alton Lane for 3 houses and one in Lymington Bottom for 60 houses following an appeal. There are other applications in the pipeline (or soon to be) in Four Marks, which include 10 houses in Alton Lane/Telegraph Lane (which was recently refused but will probably go to appeal) 95 at Creaky Cottage, Lymington Bottom and 22 at 131 Winchester Road. In addition, the draft Local Plan has proposed 2 more sites at Barn Lane and Blackberry Lane, (a further 100+)
All in all both villages are being totally deluged by all these proposals.
If speculative and site allocation numbers (i.e. those cited in the emerging Local plan for Medstead and Four Marks) are combined then this amounts to approximately 670 additional dwellings.
This is where we need your help again to try and thwart this madness.
Please visit both the SMASH and Fight4FourMarks websites for more information and please, please SUBMIT YOUR OBJECTIONS asap. We need vast numbers!
Thank you in advance for your continuing support and help in our quest of trying to keep our villages rural.
Together we can excel.
The SMASH Team