At last week’s full meeting, Hart Council admitted that it had no real plans for the new settlement centred on Winchfield/Shapley Heath. This is in direct contradiction to their funding bid for support under the Garden Communities programme. The minutes can be found here.
They were asked about how they plan to spend the £786K set aside for Winchfield new town planning. They admitted that they had taken no decisions on how to spend this money.
Hart Council Knows Nothing: No idea how much of £786K will be spent or when
They were also asked about the additional Sustainability Appraisal work requested by the Inspector. They said it was premature to discuss next stages. In a subsequent question, they admitted they had no plans for a new settlement DPD.
Hart Council Knows Nothing: No plan for New Settlement DPD
This is in direct contradiction of their Garden Community bid that said they would bring forward a new settlement consultation in December 2019.
New Settlement Bid Timeline for DPD
They are claiming that there is no link between the Local Plan process and the Garden Communities programme.
Hart Council Knows Nothing: No link between Local Plan and New Town
But their bid clearly did rely upon and indeed assumed that Policy SS3, the Winchfield/Shapley Heath new town, would remain in the Local Plan.
Shapley Heath funding assumes Policy SS3 remains in Hart Local Plan
We wonder if Hart Council has inadvertently obtained the Garden Communities money under false pretences.