Empty Offices at Farnborough, Rushmoor Borough, Hampshire.
Hart Council has responded to Rushmoor’s Draft Local Plan. In summary their points are:
- Rushmoor should look again at the SHLAA to seek out new sites and increase densities
- Rushmoor should reconsider the scope for using surplus employment sites for housing and also releasing some surplus retail space.
- Rushmoor should alter its housing target to better reflect its delivery trajectory so that it clarifies that the alleged unmet need comes after 2024, and then commit to a review of the plan to investigate the potential housing shortfall nearer the time.
Hart also suggests that much more dialogue is required between the councils and with the service providers to resolve infrastructure issues.
We Heart Hart broadly welcomes this feedback from Hart Council but believes they could have gone further by asking that the densities on Wellesley be reviewed and even more of the protected 96 Ha of employment land could be released for housing. Even so, if Rushmoor takes on board Hart’s observations, then Rushmoor will not need to ask Hart to build 1,600 houses for them. This would probably mean a new town at Winchfield is not required.