South Downs National Park housing plans would 'leave us high and dry'

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EHDC is calling on the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) to take its fair share of homes after plans revealed it could build fewer than 60 homes per year in East Hampshire. 

The new Government has proposed that East Hampshire’s housing figures be ramped up by 86 per cent, from 575 homes a year to 1,074. 

Now the SDNPA’s plans suggest it will build only around 60 of these in East Hampshire’s part of the national park. 

It means settlements outside the national park will have to take almost all the proposed homes. 

The South Downs National Park Authority is putting together a Local Plan, allocating sites for development across the entire national park, running from Winchester to Lewes, in East Sussex.  

Once previous permissions and unimplemented allocations from its current local plan have been taken into account, the SDNPA’s draft plan indicates it will only deliver around 500 extra homes by 2042 in East Hampshire. 

That means areas such Petersfield, Liphook and Liss would see relatively little development, while areas outside the park’s boundary will take the lion’s share.  

A lack of development in these areas will stifle economic growth and will mean young people will be forced to look further afield to get their own home. 

The council has previously called on the SDNPA to think about the future vitality of its settlements and take a fair proportion of homes.  

Instead, its draft Local Plan, revealed last week, suggests it would take only around 60 homes a year – leaving over a thousand homes a year to be built in the rest of the district. 

Cllr Richard Millard, EHDC Leader, said: “To say we are disappointed with these figures is an understatement. 

“The Government has hammered us with its proposal to almost double the housing target for East Hampshire – and now the South Downs National Park will leave us high and dry by only taking a tiny fraction of houses. 

“If they continue down this road it will be a body blow to people from Four Marks, Alton, Whitehill & Bordon and the southern parishes who say they have seen more than their fair share of development already. 

“Just because land is outside the national park doesn’t necessarily mean it is any less valuable or any less loved.  

“It doesn’t deserve to be used as a dumping ground for development.  

“But the game’s not over yet – our residents will have a part to play when the SDNPA Local Plan goes to consultation in the New Year.  

“That’s the moment you can have your say and support our fight to get fair housing targets in East Hampshire.” 

Cllr Andy Tree, EHDC Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Whitehill & Bordon Area, said: “People in Whitehill & Bordon want to see the level of development in the town managed carefully and without saturation. If these enormous housing targets are to be met then it is areas outside the national park that will bear the brunt of this development, which is also unfair on the Alton area, and other parts of East Hampshire too, including the south. 

“We have been pushing the Government to take account of East Hampshire’s unique situation when it comes to housing and reduce the district’s housing figures.  

“And now we’re calling on the South Downs National Park Authority to accept their responsibilities, think about the future and take a fair share of new homes.” 

The SDNPA’s planning committee will discuss these proposals at a meeting scheduled for 14 November.  

A public consultation will be held on the draft Local Plan in the New Year.  

People can read the information now but shouldn’t submit any comments until the formal consultation starts. Any comments sent to the SDNPA outside the consultation period won't be considered. 

See the South Downs National Park Authority's draft Local Plan