We Heart Hart has submitted an objection to the Hop Garden Road (Owens Farm) development in Hook.
The full details of the submission can be found here:
The summary of the submission is presented below:
The purpose of this submission by the We ♥ Hart Campaign is to oppose the specific unnecessary development proposed at Hop Garden Road in Hook and demonstrate to other developers who may wish to put forward speculative proposals for the over-development of the district that they will face formidable opposition to their plans. Hart District is facing a scale of development that is against the wishes of its residents and in contradiction to stated Government policy to place planning decisions in the hands of local people.
Let me remind you of the Prime Minister’s words in 2012, taken from this Telegraph article:
He said: “I care deeply about our countryside and environment. Our vision is one where we give communities much more say, much more control. The fear people have in villages is the great big housing estate being plonked down from above.
“Our reforms will make it easier for communities to say ‘we are not going to have big plonking housing estate landing next to the village, but we would like 10, 20, 30 extra houses and we would like them built in this way, to be built for local people’.”
Mr Cameron, who was being interviewed in his Oxfordshire constituency, denied that the reforms would lead to large swathes of the countryside being built on.
He told BBC1’s Countryfile programme: “Here we are in west Oxfordshire one of the most beautiful parts of our country, set in some of England’s finest countryside. I would no more put that at risk than I would put at risk my own family.
“I care deeply about our countryside and environment. Our vision is one where we give communities much more say, much more control.”
We ♥ Hart object to this proposed development and any future speculative proposals on the grounds summarised below:
- The SHMA and OAN are not objective and represent a “need” that is far too high.
- Understated brownfield capacity means green field development is not necessary
- This proposed development will not contribute towards meeting the needs of the changing demographics of the district
- The proposed development will make the current infrastructure funding gap worse
- Lack of consideration of the environment
You can help by going along to the appeal, to be held between Tuesday 12th May and Thursday 14th May, 10am to 5pm. The first day starts at 10am and probably through to 5pm at Hart Council’s Civic Offices, Harlington Way, GU51 4AE, Fleet. More details here.