Controversial plans for 30 homes in Lovedean look set to be approved

The application, if approved by councillors on Thursday, would see the construction of 30 homes on land behind 191-211 Lovedean Lane – but it is only access to New Road which is up for debate. Hampshire County Council’s highways officer has no objection to the plan but wants developers to provide £65,000 to improve pedestrian access on Lovedean Lane between Coldhill Lane and The Curve.

The internal layout of the housing has not been considered other than the access to New Road and the link to Lovedean Lane which are accepted by the county council and should be green-lighted by East Hampshire District Council on Thursday, December 7. That should mean developers Southcott Homes can move on to the next stage where they’ll seek detailed approval.

But the scheme, which has already been rejected twice in different guises, is still proving controversial in the village. One unnamed objector said at peak times, it is “near impossible” to exit their driveway onto the lane or cross from one side of the road to the other “without taking life-threatening risks”. The same person went on to raise concerns about the potential for serious crashes due to congestion, speeding and flooding which have an inevitable capacity for disaster. They speculated that if two cars per new household would be 60 more cars to increase congestion and traffic.

The application has attracted 69 comments from the public, all of which object to the scheme. There are 16 ‘representations’ about access from concerns over footpaths, street lighting, parking, and junction visibility to local road infrastructure being ‘inadequate’. The number of homes proposed has reduced with each application, first 38 then 33 homes and the current developer Southcott Homes, proposes 30.The council documents state: “Whilst the submitted design and layouts are not considered to be acceptable, these are not matters to be resolved at this outline stage.”

Vehicle access to the proposed new housing site is via New Road, just off Lovedean Lane, Horndean and the objections raised include,’ the local road infrastructure being inadequate. Objections in the council documents include, the site being ‘outside of the defined settlement policy’, and ‘a flood risk’ with inadequate infrastructure, water supply and drainage.

Concerns over water supply include Portsmouth Water saying it is oversubscribed and does not have the budget for increased supply, inadequate foul water drainage capacity and lack of brown water drainage, as raised in previous developments. Council officers have recommended granting outline planning permission subject to 20 conditions. The final decisions around access will be made at the planning committee meeting on Thursday, December 7.