HIRA News
- Mon 23rd Jan 2012
Save Hayling Petition Campaign Review
At our January meeting a presentation and discussion took place on the outcome of the petition, the Council meeting and what the future may hold.
Chairman Paul Fisher opened the meeting by reviewing the process so far. The purpose of the petition had been to bring to the attention of the various official bodies in the planning process the following:
• Hayling residents did not think that in that process the correct steps had always been followed and that many factors pertaining to the unique status of Hayling as an island had equally not been taken into account. These particularly related to the very limited and constrained infrastructure of the Island.
• Of special concern would be the many demands placed upon the road network that is already near saturation, as any reference to recommended highway standards will confirm. Also it is felt that other services such as sewerage, electrical power and medical cannot be stretched much further.
• Even with a reduced allocation in the current 15 year plan, Hayling would still be taking a proportion of the Borough’s housing allocation (the powers that be say ‘need’) that significantly exceeds the Island’s proportion of Borough residents.
• It is interesting to note that, even though the population of Havant is only predicted to increase by some 3000 over the next 15 years, more than 6000 houses are apparently needed to accommodate them. This is largely because of the increasing number of single households being factored into that prediction.
A petition had therefore been arranged to press for a review of the infrastructure problems. Supporting that view the signatures of over 4000 Island residents had been obtained and verified. Signatures from other interested persons raised the total to some 4500.
This was duly presented to the council in a well publicised event in October. On 14th December the full Council debated the resolution presented by the petition with the result reported in this publication last month.
This outcome was that the Council on the whole did not accept that there was any failure to consider fully the special case of Hayling. As a concession it was agreed to arrange a meeting with the appropriate authorities, to at least allow discussion of the various matters, the main one being the limitations set by the road network. As yet no date for such a meeting has been agreed, though progress on this was being made.
After Paul’s review, the members present discussed various related matters. Much of this revolved around the type of development that would be preferred on the Island, on the basis that some would inevitably occur.
In view of the road limitations, many people were of the view that to provide housing for people that always required extensive commuting options should be discouraged. Older people intending to downsize and thus release family accommodation could be encouraged. This group often seemed to be ignored but need and often can afford to buy at current market rates, whilst making little demand on the road network. It was also pointed out that increased traffic would make cycling much more dangerous, especially given the absence of any serious cycle commuting routes on Hayling.
The discussion ended, awaiting the setting-up of the meeting mentioned above.
Other matters
There is some concern being expressed about a proposed development at Yachthaven, much of it being however about the inconsistencies in that proposal. The North Hayling RA is addressing the matter.
Dog fouling is always being raised for discussion. Effort should be made to encourage everyone to alleviate this. All dog owners should be aware that all council bins can be used to deposit their collections, not only the red bins. The Safer Neighbourhood Team of Hayling Police have agreed to adopt this issue as one of their priorities, for the foreseeable future
Tony Higham
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