Eastleigh Borough Council Chandler's Ford and Hiltingbury Local Area Committee Meeting

Councillor Groves declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 of the Agenda as he owns a neighbouring property.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

The Chair reported the following:

·  Residents had been hugely inconvenienced by the problems Southern water had created twice in the last three months. Cases had been taken up by councillors, but he felt the situation should not have arisen at all, certainly not twice. He stated Eastleigh Borough Council’s response had been robust in terms of assisting with the situation and communicating and they had taken a leading role in holding Southern Water to account.

The letter from all the effected councillors and leaders, including Keith House, had made the points clearly and he hoped it would lead to a robust post-mortem.

·  Included in Local Area Managers report was the proposal to assign a £5.2k budget of developers’ contributions to art works. A productive meeting had taken place last week to kick start the process of using the grant effectively to protect the history of the Polish resettlement camp, which was on Hiltingbury Recreation Ground after the second World war.

The group had met with the Council’s Arts Officer, and he hoped they could continue to be a core part of the consultative process, representing two historic societies, with the added benefit of having parish councillors on it. The position was still fluid and not limited to indoor art. However, they would need to be mindful of the graffiti and risk of damage outside artwork could become a focus point for. They were mindful that the trees planted last year on the Hiltingbury Recreation Ground were vandalised several times, and it was a shame that the notice boards on Hiltingbury Road had also been repeatedly graffitied – making them impossible to see through the glass to the notices. The Parish Council Facilities Manager was attempting to find a more easily fixable solution.

·  Getting a bus service up and running again had been very challenging, and it was still premature to formally announce an outcome, but the Chair was very optimistic that from May there would be a feeder service connecting with Eastleigh, and helping residents who had been feeling marooned since the collapse of the x6 x7 service last year.

This process had at times been torturous, and with money being very tight for all councils it would be a great outcome, with the parish council also stepping in. The current proposal was a one-year trial, with bus passes usable. The Chair felt it was vital that residents used it, not just to reduce pollution, but to support the need of neighbours who didn’t have access to a car.

·  The Chair continued to get good feedback on the Flexford path enhancement, and the opening of the Hiltingbury Lakes, and substantial improvement in access. In the latter case there was still some surface dressing work to be completed on the west side of the lake footpaths in the spring.

·  This committee part funded improvements to the footpaths on the Hiltingbury Recreation Ground, which were also in good use, and it was noted the parish council - as part of this funding - were committed to completing the shale path at the western end – finalising the circuit.

·  Chandler’s Ford and Hiltingbury Local Area Committee were also funding a shale cycle friendly path on the Fryern Recreation Ground, which would enhance the route from Central Precinct to Fryern and would encourage cyclists to then use safer routes to Thornden, a project encouraged and supported by the school.

·  The Chair was pleased to see the warm rooms initiative, which had launched in December and was run by Hiltingbury Community Association, was being well received and was beneficial to the whole community. He commended the Community Association for their work

Consideration was given to the report of the Local Area Manager (Agenda Item 6) that contained recommendations for expenditure from the Committee’s capital and revenue budget.

Councillor Duguid declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 1 of the report as he was on the Fryern Community Association, who were affiliated with The Happy Bunch. He did not take part in the debate on that item, or vote on it.

RESOLVED –

That the Committee:

(1)  Approved the allocation of £1000 for community grants for Chandlers Ford 1^st Scouts, The Happy Bunch Over 70s Club and Knightwood BMX Club;

(2)  Noted the spend of £470 for the planting of a mixed hawthorn and blackthorn hedge at EBC land behind 96 Hursley Road;

(3)  Approved the allocation of £5,151 towards the provision of a Public Art project at Hiltingbury Sports Centre;

(4)  Approved the allocation of £865 to install a dual waste bin along Carlyn Drive and a dual waste bin along Brownhill Road;

(5)  Approved the allocation of £1,170 towards the provision of a replacement bench at Brownhill Road;

(6)  Approved the total allocation of £17,000 from the New Homes Bonus of Fryern Pavilion and the re-allocation of funds from the completed project at Ashdown Road/Hiltingbury Road pedestrian refuse,for the provision of a new cycle path at Fryern Recreation ground; and

(7)  Approved the Chandler’s Ford and Hiltingbury (CFH) Local Area Action Plan 2023/24, shown in Appendix 1 of Item 6 of the Agenda, for adoption and publication.

The Principal Planning Officer gave a short presentation on guidelines that had to be taken into account when determining planning applications; in particular the issues that could, and could not, be taken into account. This was set against the broader policy framework.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Head of Planning and Economy (Agenda Item 8) concerning an application for single storey side and rear extensions following the demolition of the existing detached garage at 29 Grosvenor Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh SO53 5BU. (Ref: H22/94420).

There were no updates.

RESOLVED -

That permission be GRANTED.

(NOTE: Councillor Groves declared a pecuniary interest in Item 8 of the Agenda as he owns a neighbouring property.)

The Committee considered a report of the Traffic and Engineering Team (Agenda Item 9) which detailed representations received in response to proposed waiting restrictions on various roads.

The Technical Services Manager reminded Councillors that the agency agreement between Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council is being terminated on 31st March 2023, therefore to defer any of the sites would not be an option.

Councillor Pragnell declared a pecuniary interest in Item 1f of the report, Meadbrook Gardens, as he owned a property in the road. He did not take part in the debate or vote on the item.

Four councillors voted to approve the withdrawal of the revocation of no verge parking restrictions in Heathfield Road, Heathfield Close and Walnut Close.

Councillor Groves voted against that proposal.

Councillor Broadhurst asked officers to look at the signage currently in place for the parking restrictions in Heathfield Road, Heathfield Close and Walnut Close to see what other options there were.

The Chair thanked the Technical Services Manager for her work with them on TROs over the years.

RESOLVED –

That Chandler’s Ford and Hiltingbury Local Area Committee:

1.  Introduced waiting and parking restrictions in:

a)  Ashdown Road;

b)  Charnwood Crescent;

c)  Bodycoats Road;

d)  Hocombe Road;

e)  Kingsway;

f)  Meadbrook Gardens; and

g)  Oakmount Road.

2.  Approved the withdrawal of the revocation of no verge parking restrictions in Heathfield Road, Heathfield Close and Walnut Close.

The Legal Services Manager reported:-

(a)  that the following appeals had been lodged:-

27 Nichol Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 5AY

Appealed against the refusal of planning permission for a two storey and first floor front extension, first floor rear extension, and elevational alterations (revised scheme).

This was a delegated decision.

(b)  that the following appeals had been dismissed:-

79 Kingsway, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 1FH

Appealed against the refusal of planning permission for retention of the current boundary treatment, new fence and wall at front of property (retrospective application).

This was a delegated decision.

35 Nichol Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, SO53 5AY

Appealed against the refusal of planning permission for the erection of a timber fence (retrospective application).

This was a delegated decision.

RESOLVED -

That the report be noted.