Talks over future of allotments (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Talks over future of allotments

4:50pm Friday 5th February 2010 in

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A FORMER allotment site, which was earmarked for hundreds of homes, could be left as scrubland.

Plans to convert the former South View allotments, Vyne Meadows car park and some surrounding land into 300 homes were put on hold after a 152-signature petition, stating the area could not take that level of development, was submitted to the council last April.

Now, following a review, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council officers have examined several options for the car park and former allotments, ruling some out and suggesting others go forward for consultation.

The options proposed for the allotments include leaving it as scrubland, creating a park, developing it for houses only, or developing a mixture of houses and a park.

Three other proposals, which involved flats and returning the land to allotment use should be dropped, according to the officers’ report.

Options to leave Vyne Meadows car park as it is, or build houses or a mix of houses and a multi-storey car park should remain on the table, but proposals to include flats ought to be dropped, the report added.

The paper – produced by Helen Harbour, head of property and facilities management, and Tim Boschi, head of neighbourhood development – notes there is a lack of open space in Norden ward and a perception that too many flats have been built and more “family-oriented” accommodation is needed.

Norden ward Councillor Laura James (pictured) has welcomed the proposal to rule out more flats, but is concerned that the original development proposal, which included land owned by Sentinel Housing Associa-tion and Network Rail, was being split into four and the council’s two sites are being considered in isolation. She fears flats would be built on Sentinel or Network Rail land.

Cllr James said: “We should be waiting to see what is happening on the other sites, but they [the council] want money so they’re going into this pretty quickly."

Cllr James also thought the case for allotments should be put to the public.

The options were due to go before councillors on the economic prosperity and performance committee on January 12, but the meeting was postponed and has been rearranged for February 9.