SEE ALSO:

Annual report 2007-8 Annual report 2006-7 Annual report 2004-5 Campaigns 20 villages out of Western Corridor

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South East Plan Planning Guidance PPG3 Hampshire Local Transport Plan South Downs information centre CPRE Hampshire is not responsible for the content of external websites

by Christopher Napier, Chairman CPRE Hampshire

The South East Plan has continued to take up much volunteer time in the last year, as would be expected of a plan intended to define the future of the South East Region for the next 20 years. Consultation on the distribution of new housing in Hampshire was a particular focus for work within the Branch Planning Group and across the Districts, and a consensus view was reached and forwarded to the Regional Assembly.

The South East Plan places particular emphasis on sub-regions for new housing and growth that will put the countryside in these areas under considerable pressure. An alliance of our District Groups in the north of the county, with others from four other counties, campaigned to persuade the Regional Assembly to review policies for the proposed Western Corridor and Blackwater valley sub-region. One successful outcome was that some twenty Hampshire villages are now outside the sub-regional boundary.

The South Hampshire sub-region impinges on the area of several District Groups and we need to work together with local residents to minimise impacts of proposed development on the countryside. Work, therefore, has started on a setting up a new Planning Group especially to cover this sub-region and to bring in local residents' associations, amenity societies and environmental groups.

In our work on the South East Plan we have kept in close touch with CPRE South East, and we have supported the hard work of CPRE South East to improve countryside protection within new regional strategies, including waste, minerals, and economic development.

Government planning guidance on housing designed to replace existing guidance (PPG3), and recently issued for consultation, places much more emphasis on meeting market demand in housing rather than providing for local housing need. The commitment to 'brownfield first' seems less sure, with the risk that developers will be able to opt for greenfield sites in preference. Along with CPRE National Office and CPRE South East, we have responded to ODPM expressing our serious concern as to an apparent move away from a policy that has ensured over 70% of housing development in Hampshire has been on brownfield land in recent times.

Inspectors in Local Plan Inquiries have reported in several Districts this year, and the results have been a good reward for the hard work the District Groups have put into giving evidence at theses Inquiries. More detailed reports on the work of the District Groups are elsewhere in this Annual Report and Newsletter.

Sadly, our hedgerow survey work stalled last year due to difficulties within our partner organisation on this project, but we will make every effort to get this important initiative back on track in 2006. On the other hand, the farm visits organised by our Branch Rural Affairs Group have been strongly supported by members, and play an important part in our understanding better the issues facing our farmers who do so much to look after our countryside. We have continued to support the work of the Committee for Rural Hampshire, and we again sponsored the Best Food Producer award in the Hampshire Life Food and Drink Awards as a way of showing our commitment to high quality local foods.

Though our Branch Transport Campaign Group, we have continued to monitor carefully the emerging Hampshire Local Transport Plan which will cover the next five years, seeking to influence Hampshire County Council wherever possible. The latest draft reflects many of our aspirations. The Transport Campaign Group has also been active in responding to BAA on its ideas for expansion of Southampton Airport; and manned a stall at the Alternative Transport Day in Winchester.

Our rural roads campaign, focusing on excessive signage and other urban clutter, has seen considerable progress. We have been working closely with Hampshire County Council on the A32, which will hopefully see good results for this road in 2006 and for other roads in the future. We have also supported clutter audits in villages.

All these transport related subjects featured in a transport symposium held in the autumn. This was a very successful event, and involved the County Council, parish councils, CPRE members and many other organisations.

We have continued to give strong support for the South Downs, having no less that four active members of CPRE Hampshire on the South Downs Joint Committee which now manages the Sussex Downs and East Hampshire AONBs; and I have become Chairman of the new South Downs Advisory Forum, which has about 140 organisations as members and will advise the Joint Committee. The South Downs National Park Inquiry finished in the early part of the year and the result is awaited, but we have continued to show our support for a national park in the South Downs through our work within the South Downs Campaign and elsewhere.

For the last few years a student has been on placement from the University of Winchester within their final year of study. This has been a successful scheme for the University, the student and CPRE Hampshire. This year our student organised a local landscape character assessment at the village of Chilbolton, involving the local community and trialling the new CPRE toolkit for such assessments.

CPRE Hampshire recruited 200 new members in 2005, considerably exceeding any other Branch. This achievement perhaps reflects the issues we are facing here in Hampshire, but is certainly a tribute to the enthusiasm and hard work of our volunteers and staff, and the improved effectiveness of our publicity efforts. It was assisted by talks given by CPRE volunteers to meetings of parishes and other groups, and volunteer manning of stalls at shows and other public events. But several District Groups are seriously short of active volunteers and we are in need of all the extra help you can give us if we are to tackle the scale of campaigning needed to address the various threats to out Hampshire countryside.

Supported by a legacy received some years ago, we have worked with an annual deficit for the last few years. This legacy is now running down, and the Trustees decided that for 2006 we would move to a balanced budget. Considerable work has been done on finding ways of achieving this without diminishing our campaigning efforts. The work of the Branch Office, of our volunteers, and fundraising and publicity activities have all been carefully reviewed and changes made to improve efficiency and maintain performance.

As to fundraising, we had two successful Branch events, a garden opening at Braishfield Manor and a show given by Charles Collingwood and Judy Bennett in Petersfield Festival Hall. For 2006, however, more will depend on District Group fundraising events, and these will be crucial in achieving our balanced budget. This, and recruiting new members, is where all members can please play a role in helping the Branch to keep campaigning on the issues that matter to all of us.

May 2006

This page updated 14th May 2007
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