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A Government planning inspector has approved Fareham's planning framework, including the development of a new community to the north of Fareham.
But his report recommended substantial changes to the special development area (SDA) which is part of the core strategy put forward by Fareham Council. The report goes some way to meeting objections Liberal Democrats had raised to the original proposals
The most important of his recommendations, and the most welcome to residents, was his removal of an employment area at junction 11 of the M27. No longer do we have the spectre of factories and warehouses marching up the western slopes of Portsdown Hill.
He asked the council to consider better ways of meeting employment needs of the new community. That's a serious challenge, not only in designing the development area, but in its relation to the borough as a whole. If we don't create employment opportunities close to people's homes, traffic congestion can only increase.
Inevitably residents of some of the SDA's 7,000 or so new homes will commute to other areas. The inspector's recommendation that transport options for the new community must be fully tested is therefore crucial over a far wider area than the SDA itself.
Liberal Democrats on the council will look closely at proposals for Newgate Lane, where the SDA must be considered alongside proposals for Daedalus, and the implications for those affected by air quality issues in the Gosport Road corridor.
And we will be looking to ensure that the hard-won improvements in recent years to Junction 9 and the access to the Whiteley and Segensworth employment areas are not put at risk by a new influx of traffic. One hopeful proposal is to investigate the potential for a reilway station for the new development.
The inspector asks for the development to contribute to Fareham's target of 12 Megawatts of renewable energy by 2020. Lib Dems are looking at innovative ways in which that can be achieved.
Many in the borough remain unhappy with the whole concept of the SDA, which the inspector established was proposed to help meet regional housing needs rather than just Fareham's. But to vote against the inspector's recommendations on the core strategy, reached after a full public inquiry, would have put the council in a dubious legal position and could perhaps have opened the way for developers to build what they line, where they like.Liberal Democrats on the council will be vigilant to ensure that if the new homes are built, they will have the schools, public transport, medical facilities etc that they need and will not impose a burden on the rest of Fareham.
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