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Hundreds of houses proposed in Tadley nature conservation area




Environmental Impact Assessment urged by councils

Proposals to build almost 300 houses in a Tadley nature conservation area have been discussed this week.

The application by Gladman Developments Ltd, to screen opinion on the necessity for an initial environmental impact assessment (EIA) in respect of a proposed residential development of up to 290 houses off Bishopswood Lane, was heard by parish councillors in both Tadley and Baughurst on Monday evening.

The proposals for outline planning permission include up to 40 per cent affordable housing, a public open space and children’s play area, a village green and a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation on land currently consisting of nine fields.

The site, believed to have been previously owned by a local farmer, has since been sold on in parcels of land to various unknown owners.

A total of four Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation are contained within the site, which is located within the inner (3km) radius of the detailed emergency planning zone for AWE Aldermaston.

The zone was established to cope with evacuation of the area in the event of any emergency at AWE, which maintains and manufactures the country’s nuclear deterrent, Trident.

Vice chairwoman of Tadley Town Council, Avril Burdett (Ind, Tadley North), said an EIA should be demanded as the development would neighbour Bishopswood Stream, which had previously flooded.

She also pointed out there were several protected species on the site.

Mrs Burdett said: “There are slow worms, newts and adders in that area and goodness knows what else – it’s not been touched for years.”

Worries about extra traffic in the area and a shortage of places for children in Tadley schools and local GPs to cater for the rise in population were also raised, before town councillors voted in favour of an EIA.

Baughurst Parish Council has also voted in favour , and clerk to the council Penny Waterfield issued a statement on behalf of the council after the meeting.

She said: “My council agreed that a formal Environmental Impact Statement was very important, and will be submitting information to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to support the need for this to be carried out.

“There are many issues which need to be properly investigated, environmentally speaking, before any application can be considered.”

She added that it was difficult to tell whether any of the site was in Baughurst.

However the roads, Bishopswood Lane and Baughurst Road, which provided site boundaries, lay within Baughurst.

Mrs Waterfield said: “The site also forms part of the strategic gap between Tadley and Baughurst, which has been in existence and recognised by Basingstoke and Deane for over 20 years as an important factor in landscape and planning.”



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