Odiham Parish Council to discuss Rye Common Proposals

Rye Common, Odiham, Hart District, Hampshire

The Basingstoke Gazette has run a story about the proposed Rye Common new village development. Odiham Parish Council is going to discuss the proposals for a new village between Odiham and Crondall.  It is clear they are very concerned about the proposals, with chairman saying:

“The parish council are well aware of the consultation being undertaken for a large development at Rye Common, located within the parish of Odiham.

“This has of course created significant interest and indeed concern within our community.”

He added: “While the parish council are required to review all proposals with an open mind, I have heard no local enthusiasm for the scheme and would want to understand how this volume of houses proposed works against HDC’s revised Strategic Housing Market Assessment.”

“It is hard to see any value to our existing community and in my view would significantly impact the character of Odiham and the surrounding of communities.”

We Heart Hart is quoted in the article saying:

“The Rye Common development is simply not required because our housing targets are reducing and there are plenty of brownfield sites available that can meet our housing needs for decades to come.”

More details about the proposals and how to respond to the consultation can be found here.

Hook Herald covers Pyestock and brownfield study stories

Hook Herald 8 April 2016 Housing Reprieve

Hook Herald has covered the Pyestock (aka Hartland Park) redevelopment story, that we covered here and Fleet News and Mail covered yesterday.  They also quote We Heart Hart as signalling that this new development effectively kills off the plan for a new town at Winchfield.

It is also encouraging to see that Hook Herald have covered the other significant story of Hart District Council (HDC) launching a new project to find out how to make the most of the brownfield sites in the district. We understand that HDC will now make a full announcement about this next week.

Full size image of the story here.

 

Fleet News covers Pyestock village story

Hartland Park (Pyestock) near Fleet, Hart District, Hampshire, warehouse development not started

Brownfield site: Hartland Park (Pyestock) near Fleet, Hart District, Hampshire, warehouse development not started

Fleet News and Mail has covered the story that we broke last Thursday about St Edward (part of the Berkeley Group) entering into a joint venture agreement with M&G (part of Prudential) to redevelop the Pyestock site for housing.

We Heart Hart is quoted in the story, but they cast doubt on our estimate of 1,500 homes being built on the site. However, we stand by our numbers, because they are drawn from the statement made by council leader Stephen Parker at council last week, where he gave the estimate of 1,500 homes.

The site is 135 acres (according to Hart), which is equivalent to ~54 hectares.  1,500 homes would amount to a density of 27.8 dwellings per hectare (dph).  We would hope that density can be pushed up somewhat, especially to build more of the 1 and 2-bed homes that we need and that space can also be found for one or more schools should they be required.

Also covered in Get Hampshire April 7 2016: ‘Much-needed homes’ could be created on former Pyestock site for new sustainable village

We Heart Hart Press Coverage

We are delighted to see that the We Heart Hart (We Love Hart) campaign has been covered in the Basingstoke Gazette, “It’s time for Hart to think again”, p20 and online at “We Heart Hart petition get 600 signatures“.

We Heart Hart in Basingstoke Gazette
We Heart Hart in Basingstoke Gazette

Also covered in the Fleet News and Mail, “Number against building more homes in Hart swells”, p3, and online at “Petition attracts hundreds of signatures opposing more homes in Hart

We Love Hart in Fleet News and Mail
We Love Hart in Fleet News and Mail

This shows support is growing across Hart District for a change of tack on the Local Plan