9:10am Sunday 7th February 2010
By Lucie Richards
A PLANNING battle in Bramley took a criminal twist when a large section of hoarding around a disputed plot was dug up.
Developers Radiotropic put up a high wooden fence around the plot next to 24, Longbridge Road. But between Sunday night and Monday, sections worth £2,000 were ripped up and destroyed.
PC Mandy Jewell, beat officer for Bramley, said: “This seems like a pre-meditated piece of work and it was not done in five minutes – the posts were buried two feet in the ground.”
The plot has been the focus of discontent since September 2008 when Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Development Control committee approved plans to build seven new homes on the site, despite 38 letters of objection.
Unwilling to give up, Longbridge Road resident Cathy Baker submitted an application to Hampshire County Council to register the plot as a village green, to prevent development.
A non-statutory public inquiry is due to be heard for up to three days at Bramley Village Hall from April 26. This will look at whether a significant number of inhabitants have used the site over a 20-year period. The site is now owned by Radiotropic.
The planning inspector will write a report and the county council will decide whether to grant village green status or not.
Mrs Baker, 48, said she was disgusted by the vandalism and wanted to win the planning battle by legal means. She said: “My family has lived here for 16 years. My children have grown up playing on the green and one of the reasons we bought this house was because of the play area down the road.
“There are adults in the village who remember playing there as children.”
John Bell, project manager for Radiotropic, said: “It’s a difficult situation. I have spoken to some people in Longbridge Road who want to see the development go ahead. The local authority looked at everything and decided it was a valid application. We will wait until the inquiry has run its course.” He said the vandalism had taken him by surprise and added: “You don’t expect that in a village like Bramley.”
Anyone with information about the incident should contact PC Jewell at Tadley Police station on 0845 0454545 or call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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