Background

Why are we doing this?

FACTS :

• SMASH understand the need for new houses including affordable ones, but the shear number already built in the southern part of Medstead, over the last 9 years, has nearly doubled the number of dwellings here (From 325 to 650 )

• In 2017 & 2018 in Medstead, there were more houses built in the village (133 & 151 respectively) than the TOTAL annual housing numbers that were allocated to the WHOLE of the South Downs National Park area that lies within the EHDC region!   

• The character of Medstead is changing from a quiet rural village to an urban dormitory town due  to urban style settlements - urban creep

• The A31 - Lymington Bottom and Boyneswood Road junctions are already at 92% capacity, resulting in traffic congestion and at busy times, gridlock.

• Infrastructure - e.g. doctors, schools places, dentists, etc. are not keeping pace with growth and are already overstretched and overwhelmed

• Wildlife and biodiversity are being devastated 

• Air quality is deteriorating due to the increase in the number of cars and is contrary to the aims of EHDC climate emergency policy

• Medstead continues to be a primary target for speculative housing development. 

• 4 of the Large Development Sites ( i.e. sites >600 houses) out of a total of 10 have been identified by EHDC for Medstead/Four Marks