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SMASH Your local voice against inappropriate housing development.
LATEST HEADLINES updated 20th April 2025
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, thank you for your support
Application 55318/01, 62 houses Land West of Beechlands road, Medstead - UPDATE
Medstead Parish Council seeking legal advice!
Although, approved by EHDC planning committee, the controversy around this application is far from over - PLEASE read on
IMPORTANT
Please click on this link for more information from the excellent.
Beechlands Road Community Group
Watch this space!
EDHC needs your help, please fill in their questionnaire with your views - thank you again for your support.
East Hampshire District Council launches consultation on Draft Affordable Housing SPD
East Hampshire District Council is taking an important step to addressing the district's need for affordable homes by releasing a draft Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for public consultation.
This initiative aims to ensure the affordable housing delivered in East Hampshire meets the specific needs of local communities.
Cllr Angela Glass, EHDC’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “As one of Hampshire's most unaffordable areas, East Hampshire faces significant challenges in providing affordable housing.
“Following the government's introduction of a mandatory housing target of 1,142 homes per year, the draft SPD clarifies existing requirements for affordable housing, helping developers and stakeholders better align with the district's priorities.”
The SPD does not introduce new policies but provides guidance for implementing existing ones. It applies to the area within East Hampshire outside of the South Downs National Park.
The draft SPD is available for consultation from Monday, 31 March, to the end of Monday, 28 April 2025.
Supporting documents, including a Draft Affordable Housing SPD, an Equality Impact Assessment and a Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Regulations Assessment Screening Statement. Strategic Environmental Assessment, aHabitats Regulations Assessment, Screening Statement and an Equality Impact Assessment, are also available for review.
Documents can be viewed online or in person at local libraries (Petersfield, Alton, Liphook, and Bordon), Horndean Parish Council office, and East Hampshire District Council’s offices by appointment.
Take part in this consultation click here
They're coming for our countryside!
Recent over development in “South Medstead” – The facts
Since 2017, there has been 338 new dwellings built in the southern part of Medstead (an increase in dwellings of 97% w.r.t. the original number of houses in this part of the village).
There is approval for a further 149 and another 115 in 2 speculative applications awaiting a Council decision. This will result in further 264 being built here in the next few years (increasing the number of dwellings by 172% since 2017).
These figures are far in excess of any other village in East Hampshire over such a short space of time.
Our character and wildlife are rapidly being destroyed/displaced and we’re seeing more flooding and hundreds more vehicles on our local village roads adding to congestion and other traffic issues.
Come along to the drop-in session running from 2pm to 5pm at Four Marks Village Hall on Sunday 26th January to learn more and input into the new Medstead and Four Marks Neighbourhood Plan.
STILL STRIVING TO KEEP MEDSTEAD RURAL
The consequences of SPECULATIVE applications - these continue unabated
1. Recent Hampshire Highways traffic monitoring showed that over 15,000 vehicles drive along the A31 through Four Marks from 7am to 7pm. Building hundreds more houses here will simply bring hundreds more cars, worsening air quality (noxious gases & particulates) and increase congestion for local residents.
2. Four Marks/‘South Medstead’ is designated a Tier 3 settlement, i.e. a centre which has a more limited range of services than a Tier 2 but is ‘suitable’ to accommodate some modest development to meet local needs and secure continued vitality. A minimum of 175 houses were allocated as part of the current plan based on local need and sustainability. However, this number has been significantly exceeded, indeed within the first 2 years over 200 dwellings were built (see above graph).
3. Any houses built above the plan of 175 are therefore NOT needed for local needs by definition. This has resulted in hundreds of people from outside the area moving in, but who work outside the villages as there is limited employment locally, reinforcing the label of being 'dormitory' villages.
4. Of the residents that work, most use their cars to travel to their workplace. Additionally, because there are only limited local facilities then residents drive to the bigger settlements for much of their leisure and shopping, therefore these villages are not sustainable.
5. As EHDC did not have a 4/5YHLS then uncontrolled overdevelopment has and is taking place resulting in the current Local Plan allocation being significantly exceeded.
6. Mass development has resulted in some services being stretched such as GP’ surgeries and schools.
7. FM & ‘SM’ have four major junctions onto the A31. These are at Boyneswood Road which is accessed by a single lane road over the railway, Lymington Bottom Road accessed via a single lane road through a railway bridge, Lymington Bottom and Telegraph Lane. Three of the four junctions are at or over capacity at peak times currently. These junctions cannot take any more traffic without incurring further delays, congestion, and possible safety issues. There have actually been 2 accidents on the A31 at Four Marks in the last 12 months.
8. We would suggest that each new development has contributed to a loss of biodiversity. As FM/’SM’ have had so many sites over recent years and more speculative ones proposed then an environmental inventory Study (EIS) should be done collectively to assess this overall impact.
9. The majority of houses currently being built is 3–4-bedroom executive homes. The real requirement is for 1-2 bedroomed dwellings and some 3-bedroomed ‘social housing’ based on the HEDNA.
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