Eastleigh Borough Council Eastleigh Local Area Committee Meeting

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

A member of the public spoke in relation to the future of the Samsons Gym site. The Local Area Manager responded with a statement from Officers and confirmed that all future options for the scheme were still being considered and costed. There is not currently a definitive timescale for this as further information was awaited from consultants.

A member of the public spoke in relation to unauthorised encampments and airport noise.

The vice Chair advised back in September that a response would be provided in writing, but nothing had been received. A response was given verbally by the Local area Manager. In relation to the airport question the Chair advised that he would investigate and someone would respond back to him.

The Chair reported the following:

“Town Centre Colonnade vinyls

We have just completed the installation of three new areas of our colouful colonnade vinyls, following some very positive feedback after the first installations. We are committed to investing in the town centre and these really do add colour and vibrancy. You can see the new areas: opposite the station as you enter the town, on Market Street outside the old Burtons Store; and, on the corner of the Precinct as it wraps around Dominoes.

Bus station

The recent refurbishment project is now complete, and following on the heels of the seating, new bins and deep clean comes new LED lighting installed throughout. This will reduce the energy consumption and emissions by at least 50%.

Fleming Park Bridge

We have just completed the replacement of the footbridge near Dovedale, the last of three recent bridge replacements in Fleming Park, as part of our ongoing investment in improving our parks and opens spaces and a precursor to the wider improvement project for Fleming Park being delivered over the coming months.

Tree planting

Tree planting gets underway in our Local Area, so look out for a hundreds of new trees being planted this spring. We are using the Government’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund to pay for this season’s planting.

Freespace Bike Track

After having delivered a new and improved Freespace Skate Park, I am very pleased to confirm we are  entering into a partnership with the team from Southampton Bike Track who will be improving the BMX track and enabling it to be used as a 4-cross track. The nearest alternative being 150 miles away. If you would like to join in the volunteer days look out for more information on our website.

Eastleigh FC

I’d like to congratulate Eastleigh Football Club on their FA cup run which brought Eastleigh to national attention and resulted in 2 sold out matches at the Silverlake. Thank you to the club who used prize money to subsidise 10 coaches to Newport which was a great day out. Good luck for the rest of the season.”

The Senior 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 Service Director for Planning and Environment. (Agenda item 7) concerning an increase of fencing height around the tennis courts. (Ref: F/23/96233).

RESOLVED -

That permission be GRANTED subject to conditions recommended in the committee report.

Consideration was given to a report of the Local Area Manager (Agenda item 8) that contained recommendations for expenditure from the Committee’s capital and revenue budget.

RESOLVED –

(1)  £58,648.77 was allocated for North Stoneham Public Art Phase 2 from developers’ contributions;

(2)  £50,000 was allocated for improvements to Lakeside Play Area from developers’ contributions;

(3)  £6,000 was allocated to purchase Highways England land within Allbrook Hill Public Open Space from developers’ contributions; and

(4)  Approval was given to the fees and charges for cemeteries set out in Appendix A, to come into effect on 1 March 2024.

The Legal Services Manager reported that the following appeals had been lodged:-

58 Bright Wire Crescent, Eastleigh, SO50 5SQ (Ref: EA/23/95998)

Appeal against the Councils refusal of, without planning permission, the erection of an unauthorised outbuilding is shown red on the attached plan. By virtue of the height, scale and mass, as well as the materials used, the structure of the outbuilding is creating an imposing presence at the foot of the garden space adjacent to the public realm, which is visually intrusive and, as erected, is noticeably larger than outbuildings situated within a number of other gardens within the estate, standing much higher than the boundary fence while others have minimal pitched roofing visible above boundary fence lines.

29 Twyford Road, Eastleigh, SO50 4HD (Ref: F/23/94920)

Appeal against the Council’s refusal of the change of use from C4 HMO to Sui Generis HMO for more than 6 No unrelated persons (Resubmission F/23/94574).

RESOLVED -

That the report be noted.