Waterfront Appeal Decision Announced

Hart District Council has welcomed the decision of Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to dismiss a planning appeal relating to land at Waterfront Business Park in Fleet.

Helical Bar (Fleet) Ltd had appealed to the Secretary of State, following the refusal of planning permission for 202 dwellings on the site and a public inquiry was held at the beginning of the year which lasted for seven days. The Council opposed the scheme on the basis that it involved the loss of land currently used for employment purposes, and, separately and independently, because it felt the design was not of sufficient quality. The Inspector who held the inquiry recommended that the appeal be dismissed.

The Secretary of State considered that the site had both an existing and future benefit to the District in terms of employment and economic growth. It was in a highly accessible and sustainable location with a long history of employment use. She felt that any review of this designation needed to be done on a systematic basis so as to not harm the potential for economic growth and employment in the district.

Turning to the proposed design, the Secretary of State concluded that the proposal would not fit well in the Fleet Road street scene, and would not have provided sufficient landscaping or amenity spaces within the development. The Secretary of State concluded that the proposals “would fall some way short” of Government policy which required development to create places, streets and spaces which meet the needs of people and maintain and improve local character.

She also had concerns that the development would not provide sufficient long-term resources for the provision of a Ranger service in relation to Fleet Pond. However, she gave the Council’s recently adopted strategy for protecting the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (an area of international importance for the protection of the woodlark, nightjar and Dartford warbler) a ringing endorsement.

Hart’s Interim Development Services Manager, Robert Jackson, welcomed the Secretary of State’s decision saying: “This decision shows the importance of ensuring that there is a range of employment sites within Hart and that development must respect and enhance the local area”.