pamelacharlwood
top of page
pamelacharlwood
Apr 20
Voter ID: please do not forget to take identification with you when you go to vote in person on 2 May. Details are in our Update of 29 February – see www.hhra.org.uk About Us Latest News.
Sailing Club open days: both our local sailing clubs will have open days in the coming weeks and we are glad to provide information for those who might wish to explore the activities on offer.
On Saturday 27 April (11.00 to 16.00) Seafarers Sailing Club will be holding an open day: The public will be invited to see what a family friendly club we are and to experience some of the fun and fulfilling activities we provide. There will be tours around the club and a chance to chat with members and an opportunity to find out about our RYA courses, including those scheduled for the end of May. Subject to suitable weather conditions, visitors will be able to try dinghy sailing and rowing. Refreshments will also be available and all are welcome. The club is located at Salterns Car Park, Hill Head , PO14 3QS. For further details check the website www.Seafarers-sailing-club.org.uk
On Saturday 11 May, Hill Head Sailing Club, Cliff Road will have its open day 09.30 to 16.30
Your chance to get on the water and try the following for FREE ...
Registration 09:30 - 1500
Kayaking 10:30 - 12:30
Standup Paddle Boards 1130 - 1530
Dinghy Sailing 12:30 - 16:00
Yacht Sailing 1230 - 1600
Gig style Rowing 12:30 - 16:00
Food for sale from 12:00
Safety gear provided. (Don't forget to bring a change of clothes and
trainers for the water!)
Hill Head Sailing Club offers you:
*The opportunity to learn to sail and drive power boats. We run RYA
training courses for children and adults with ongoing coaching.
*Racing and Recreational sailing available throughout the year for
all abilities including coached racing.
*Access to a range of over 50 club dinghies, RIBs, rowing gigs,
kayaks & stand-up paddle boards.
*Full, Family, Cadet, Social & Open water swimming membership
categories available
*Social events in our superb Lounge/Bar
For information visit: www.hillheadsc.org.uk Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HillHeadSC Contact us on discover-sailing@hillheadsc.org.uk
Haven House: there is no new news at the time of writing but the trustees of THCH have written to Councillor Oppenheimer who has said he hopes to provide an update around the end of the month. We advise neither holding one’s breath nor feeling too optimistic….
Osborne View: again, no new news as yet.
Planning matters: we have heard nothing further about Bargate Homes and the Old Street fields but we remain vigilant. For those who are interested, the appeal on FBC’s enforcement notice on the Titchfield Festival Theatre will be heard 14 – 16 May.
Fareham town centre development: we are grateful to one of our members who wrote to Councillor Woodward on this subject and received a response which included the following points:
Since the acquisition of the Shopping Centre last year, the Council has carried out two rounds of public engagement and extensive technical work with our regeneration consultants, RivingtonHark. Both RivingtonHark and our architects, Leslie Jones Architects, have extensive experience in town centre regeneration programmes and are currently working with a number of Local Authorities. This includes authorities where the Council has purchased the shopping centre to facilitate change. They are both experts in this type of work with a broad and deep understanding of how towns work.
A report detailing the ideas that have been considered along with a short list to take forward for further assessment was heard at Executive on 18th of March.
There are a number of interventions being considered [including]:
• The potential of a new farmers market to the High Street;
• A number of proposed interventions to both improve access to the waterfront and
provide better facilities once there to encourage a better use of the area;
• A comprehensive review of the car parking offer within the town; and
• Longer term options for redevelopment to provide new homes along side new ground floor commercial and leisure uses.
toob poles: other members will have heard from our MP Dame Caroline Dinenage about this ongoing issue, but for those who have not, this was the message she sent on 5 April:
In the meeting with Ofcom, I raised the failure of toob to transparently communicate the decision to erect telegraph poles in the area and hold an open consultation with the residents who will be impacted by the installation. I also indicated that toob has not yet responded to complaints submitted by constituents and has refused to hold a public meeting. I therefore urged Ofcom to bring these concerns directly to the attention of toob and encourage the company to engage with the public, they advised that they would do so in absence of powers to regulate the placement or usage of poles.
Last Monday, I discussed the situation with the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, Julia Lopez MP, and highlighted the need to review the Electronic Communications Code and tighten existing regulations to ensure that the interests and rights of residents are well protected. The Minister assured me that she is looking at ways to clarify the legislation, which is vague in parts.
Thank you for your patience in this matter and for bringing your concerns to my attention. In addition to these meetings, I am assessing the information that I have received from Ofcom and the Minister to decide on the best course of action moving forward. It seems the Local Authority may have slightly more powers here that they have acknowledged, so I am also exploring this and will write to them again if so.
I will keep you updated with these next steps as well as with any new developments.
Please be assured that I am committed to ensuring that your voices are heard at the very top of Government.
Website: following up our recent reminder about the value of our website www.hhra.org.uk here is a little more detail about what you can find on the site. On the Local Information pages, you will find contact details if you wish to report commercial shellfish gathering, overflying aircraft or dangerous use of jetskis; action fraud, police, MP, councillors; medical and transport details and clubs and associations. Local History provides information on the Osborne View and under About Us you will find past Updates and notes of meetings. Do take a look and if you can think of anything it would be useful to add, do let us know. And do commend it to any friends and neighbours who are not already members!
Scams We now have a worthy successor to Peter Wason among our members, who clearly receives many scams a week and has alerted us to them. The current batch include your Netflix or Macafee subscriptions needing renewal; Bitcoin rallying; the US Dept of Homeland Security wanting to pay you large amounts of prize money; Samsung Galaxy S24 phone; B&Q screwdriver set; Nespresso Pixie; Stanley Quencher Cup; Evri asking for delivery address for your damaged parcel; an invoice for $399; Tesco satisfaction survey; Boots looking for new customers; ‘Just wanted to share this photo with you’; HMRC wanting to follow up underpayment on your account; Natwest allegedly wanting you to confirm your primary phone number. In all cases, never click on anything and, if it’s a phone call, block that number. Please also send them to report@phishing.gov.uk. You may also wish to look at https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/scam-alert-social-media-hacking-on-the-rise-aN1uI6o5E9uq
On a linked point, those who are members of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme may be aware that a security issue arose recently. Neighbourhood Watch have advised ‘Although the probability of your data having being viewed by a non-authorised Coordinator is extremely low, there are steps you can take to reduce any impact on you: be wary of any contact you receive either in person, by email or phone call from anyone you do not already know to be your local NW Coordinator; verify the scheme via https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/get-involved/find-my-local-scheme. If you cannot find the scheme you wish to verify, email the NW Central Support Team at enquiries@ourwatch.org.uk and they will connect you with your local approved Coordinator or association contact. And finally, check your sharing permissions.
Next members’ meetings: 7.30pm Monday 24 June – speaker to be confirmed; Monday 4 November on the subject of Welborne.
pamelacharlwood
Mar 27
Dear Members
Planning Matters
Many members have commented on two planning related matters in the last couple of weeks:
a. Old Street fields. Surveyors have been at work this week in and beside the Old Street fields which were the subject of the application for up to 150 houses by Bargate Homes in 2017, refused by FBC and dismissed on appeal by the Planning Inspector in 2019.
At our request, our councillors have spoken to the FBC planning officer whose response today, I regret to say, is:
“I have been in touch with Bargate Homes who submitted the previously refused planning application for the construction of up to 160 dwellings at Land West of Old Street (P/17/1451/OA). The subsequent appeal was dismissed in January 2018 [It was Jan 2019 PC]
“It has been confirmed that the surveyors are carrying out a land survey to update the topographical survey with a view to submitting a pre-app to the Council within the next few months for a development on a smaller parcel of land than before, excluding the bird mitigation land that has been created and the planting buffer that has been established since that time.
“Bargate will undertake direct public consultation with local residents in due course in advance of submission of any planning application”.
Since the planning appeal was dismissed, the two fields have been effectively divided into three horizontal sections:
· The lowest section, furthest from the road, was committed by Bargate in mitigation for loss of habitat for Brent geese and other Solent waders at a site off Newgate Lane where they obtained planning consent for a development. Not a lot of Brent geese seem to be interested in it, but the Canada geese certainly are.
· The middle section has been planted with saplings. We assume that this has been done by Bargate as a result of the Planning Inspector commenting that any housing development on the site would be unsightly when viewed from the canal and the Haven. These trees, when mature, are presumably intended to provide some degree of screening if houses were ever built on the section of the fields nearest Old Street.
· That final section remains as ‘the horse fields’ which is the area relevant to Bargate’s potential application.
FBC now has a Local Plan, approved last year, which demonstrates the council's ability to meet its 'Five Year Housing Land Supply' (5YHLS) during the period to 2037. In that Local Plan, the fields are not shown as being available for housing. Given that, in 2019, the Planning Inspector dismissed Bargate's appeal for the larger scheme at a time when FBC was not able to meet its 5YHLS, any developer would face a challenge at both application and appeal. However, this would be a smaller scheme, further from the Haven boundary and it seems that Bargate is preparing to give it a try. Please be assured HHRA will be very much 'on the case' and will keep you informed.
b. Local people have noted the marketing by Savills of three fields between Peak Lane and Titchfield Road, north of Oakcroft Lane, described as being an ‘edge of settlement development opportunity’. In the Local Plan, this area is, again, clearly shown as not being available for housing, but this would not necessarily stop a developer making a speculative (expensive) purchase and putting the fields in their ‘land bank’ possibly in anticipation of changing targets in future.
Haven House
Speaking of Savills…. there is no further news about the sale of Haven House since the decision by HCC on 21 December to sell to a private buyer. Councillor Oppenheimer’s hope that he would be able to introduce Titchfield Haven Community Hub (THCH) to the purchaser when contracts were exchanged, which he suggested might be late February/early March, has clearly not yet been achieved and Savills are still marketing it. THCH trustees will be contacting Councillor Oppenheimer after Easter and inquiring about progress.
Broadband poles
The story continues regarding telegraph poles being erected by broadband provider toob. Some have been removed, some have not and some more have been put up. Our MP Caroline Dinenage has been active and a letter has been sent to broadband providers by the Minister, urging them to use existing infrastructure wherever possible (underground and poles) and also to consult effectively with local people. The following article in the Daily Echo covers the story well:
Planning underway to introduce Simpler Recycling in Fareham
Fareham Borough Council is beginning its preparations to introduce 'Simpler Recycling' to Fareham.
Required under the Environment Act 2021, 'Simpler Recycling' aims to increase household recycling rates by making it possible for people across the country to recycle the same materials without needing to check what their council will accept.
The Council currently operates an alternate weekly waste and recycling collection service for plastic bottles, card, paper, tins, cans and aerosols, with a glass and textiles able to be taken to nearby bank sites across the Borough.
Introducing Simpler Recycling means that food waste will be collected separately in Fareham on a weekly basis, glass must be collected from residents' kerbside and a greater range of recyclables must be collected in recycling bins - including plastic pots, tubs, trays, cartons, paper and card, and metal cans.
These services must be in place by 31 March 2026 and the Council is expecting capital funding to be provided for the purchase of new food waste collection vehicles and food waste bins: an announcement was made on 27 March about funding to introduce food waste collection for councils including Fareham.
Voter ID
In our Update of 29 February we set out details of the photographic ID you will need if you wish to vote in person (as opposed to by postal vote) on 2 May. That Update is on our website www.hhra.org.uk About Us Latest News.
Website
Speaking of the website, do browse every so often in www.hhra.org.uk We post past Updates so you can remind yourself of what has been circulated. There is also a wealth of useful contact information eg local councillors, our MP, Transport, Local Associations and much more, as well as a slightly updated version of John Lewthwaite’s History of the Osborne View.
bottom of page