Dear Supporters,
OUR GOAL – Remove Chawton Park Farm from the EHDC Spatial Strategy!
Firstly thank you for continuing to share our petition! We now have over 3860 signatures and well on our way to 5000 – please carry on the good work!
Do like and share our facebook page as well https://www.facebook.com/SayNoChawtonParkFarmAlton
Gridlock
Recently we’ve been focusing on GRIDLOCK! The traffic volumes that will ensue from building 1200 homes at Chawton Park Farm and have had articles about this in consecutive editions of the Alton Herald:
Action
We need to continue to write to our ward councillors about our concerns – this point has been made again and again to the Campaign. And to Damian Hinds MP damian.hinds.mp@parliament.uk
Who are our ward councillors?
Here is the link to find out: https://easthants.moderngov.co.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1
What issues should we write about?
Traffic – see article above
Location (unsustainable 2 miles from Alton Town Centre – would need cars for most if not all journeys)
Bridge bottleneck
Junction of Chawton Park Road/Whitedown Lane – already backed up with traffic at peak times which would increase by 80% after the proposed CPF development.
Climate change – flooding, and Biodiversity – swifts, swallows feed on insects above Chawton Park Farm, rooks, jackdaws feed on worms and insects in the fields. See this article in the Herald by Diana Tennyson EHDC councillor: https://www.altonherald.com/article.cfm?id=141222&headline=Swifts%20need%20farm%20dung%20for%20survival§ionIs=news&searchyear=2021
Proximity and damage to the Medieval Deer Park which we hope will be considered for listing by Alton Town Council.
Proximity and degradation/deterioration to Ancient Woodlands and SINCs (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation – Bushy Leaze, Ackender and Chawton Park Woods ) by being so close to 1200 homes and c3000 people in their vicinity.
Greenfields/Brownfields: we can write to Damian Hinds asking him to support Leader Cllr R Millard’s appeal to Michael Gove MP to get answers regarding alternative methods of calculating housing numbers and for defined policy regarding building on green fields. Building on Chawton Park Farm would be in direct opposition to the Prime Minister and Michael Gove’s statements calling into question building on ‘green fields’ in England’s ‘overheating’ south-east.
Gove has said he wants to invest ‘in urban regeneration, with new homes on neglected brownfield sites….’ Adding " it will mean empowering local government to make a bigger difference for good, allowing communities to take back control of their futures and creating greener and more beautiful places to live." Building on Chawton Park Farm will NOT create a greener and more beautiful place to live!
EHDC have not been replying to our letters asking when/how will they engage with the residents of Alton as they promised verbally on 23rd September outside Penns Place, Petersfield, and also in their Press Release of 28th September where they said
There has already been extensive consultation but now the Spatial Strategy has been approved we can move forward with community engagement and give residents more say on the proposals put forward by developers.”
We are writing to them again today.
Do please write to your ward councillors to keep up the pressure on EHDC.
And finally a big ***Thank you*** all for your support!