Protestors against the Scratchface Lane development
Published in the Portsmouth News on Wednesday 22nd August 2012
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a housing estate in Bedhampton are to go back before Havant Borough Council.
Crayfern Homes want to build a 92 home estate on a field off Scratchface Lane.
The original application was rejected by the council on the grounds that it was too close to the A3 and would be too noisy to live next to.
Crayfern appealed against the decision and although a government planning inspector rejected the appeal in March it was not on noise pollution grounds but a contractual matter.
It left the door open for the developers to resubmit the plans once the other matters had been tied up.
Jim Graham, chairman of North Hill Residents’ Association, led the campaign against the development.
He said: ‘We will be making the same objections with the new application.
‘Last year, the planning committee unanimously agreed that the site was not a suitable place to live and they had been in the field and experienced the noise from the motorway.
‘No matter what the sound measurements are, those councillors still felt it was too noisy on that day.
‘I’m sure if they go back in the near future they will experiences the same noise and I assume they will come to the same decision.’
He added: ‘I don’t see why the councillors should feel afraid.’
A petition with more than 1,000 signatures was presented to the original planning committee.
The proposal includes bulldozing two bungalows in Brooklands Road to create an access road to the proposed site.
Crayfern did not respond to calls from The News.
A decision is expected in September 2012.
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