Plans for three-metre high fence at Hampshire police HQ near Netley approved despite complaints
Approval has been granted to install a three-metre-high fence to make police headquarters more secure despite residents’ opposition.
According to the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), the fence is needed to improve security at the site after a report said that critical operational assets such as the HQ could be seen as a “key target to criminal and terrorist organisations”.
Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) has approved the OPCC application to install a three-metre-high fence with a spiked topper to protect against climb-over attempts along the perimeter of the Southern support and police training headquarters near Netley.
The application also included the replacement of vehicle and pedestrian gates at the main access through Hamble Lane and secondary access at Hound Road with new controlled and monitored gates for site security purposes.
During the public consultation, 26 representatives were present, all objecting to or raising concerns about the proposal.
At the Bursledon, Hamble-le-Rice and Hound local committee meeting (March 27), Simon Guillan, chair of Hound Parish Council, said they had received several complaints in the last seven days from residents of Hound Road that couldn’t park in their drives because recently there were several hundred vehicles coming out of the gate at Hound Road.
Mr Guillan said: “The residents of Hound Road were completely unaware of this use. The increased traffic about the changes at the gate is a lie. It’s self-designated for emergency use only; however, it is at their own discretion. It is not going to increase, but it’s abusing the outpresent, so I fully expect that to increase.”
In relation to the installation of the fence, he said it’s “ridiculous” and will impact wildlife.
“We have two families of deer, and they will bash themselves crazy in those fences. A fence which prevents people from coming in is fine, but it doesn’t have to be a ten-foot fence. You cannot avoid the visual impact. It’s a ten-foot fence; you can not hide it.
“I think they [police] have been a welcome part of the community, but they are isolating themselves by doing this,” he added.
Another resident, Graham Jackson, said that if Hound Road would not receive more traffic, “why is there a need to widen the road?”
The council officer said that after reviewing the concerns received by the council, he analysed over 40 planning applications related to the site and the wider country park from 1980, which is when permission was granted to use Victoria House for police constabulary and found “nothing” that places any restrictions on the Hound Road.
He said: “Hound Road was the original access for the wider hospital site. So, there are no restrictions on its use. There is nothing from a planning perspective that says this access can’t be used for any purpose.
“But I have been assured that they have no intentions to alter how that access has been used, and therefore, there should be no additional travel. In fact, the proposal is to improve the Hamble Lane access driveway to encourage use.”
In support of the application, superintendent Simon Tribe, who has been working at the site for around 28 years, said he has been “always very surprised” to see the site as open as it is.
He said that recently, there have been increased problems with people coming into the site to video the activity and then post it on the internet.
Superintendent Tribe said: “Certainly, from an operational police perspective, one of the main concerns is that if we are practising and training for arms tactics to how to deal with terrorism and organised crime groups, the fact that we have people entering to the site with the express interest to film training and posting it online, I would suggest is a significant risk to security, not only to the officers but to the wider public.
“We are Hampshire police constabulary, we are here to safeguard the public. We need to make sure that our officers are trained to be suitable to do so.”
The application was granted with the support of the members. However, Cllr Tonia Craig, chair of the committee, did not support it due to safety concerns over the spiked topper of the fence.