AS a lifelong resident of Old Basing, I'm becoming quite used to helping any campaign to prevent over and unsuitable development of the green and historic fields of our parish. Most recently, three sites were earmarked by the borough for said housing, although two have been temporarily shelved where our many concerns have been listened to, for the moment at least. The remaining area known as East of Basingstoke, if it goes ahead, will badly exacerbate the traffic issues that already exist around Old Basing and Lychpit, despite reassurances from the developers that a planned 'substantial' bus service will magically take that pressure off Pyotts Hill and Bartons Lane, the areas worst affected.

But it's not just in our village that we hear of developers promises effectively saying, 'it'll be alright' and 'we only care about building homes with infrastructures to suit'.   

READ MORE: Council faces off against Secretary of State over controversial plan

A patch of land south of Newbury allocated for 270 new houses was recently (wonderfully) opposed on appeal by BDBC after hundreds of objection letters from rightly concerned residents, but then subsequently challenged by Bewley Homes (Gazette April 4th) and may now be subject to a Judicial review. Bewley Homes managing director, Andrew Brooks effectively cynically quoted: 'Local residents objecting to the development clearly don't consider that using tax-payers money on a Judicial review is a waste of money but I suspect the 'five thousand families around Basingstoke waiting for a home might not agree'.

I'd put it to you Mr Brooks you are not in the least bit bothered about tax-payers money being used to fight you, you just want to reap yet more obscene profits from building wherever you can as quickly as you can. I'd be willing to wager you don't live in an area about to be blighted with hundreds of new houses nearby.

Basingstoke and its district have done way more than its share of building new homes recently and I'm not sure where the figure of five thousand families still sitting on housing lists comes from. You can be positive however that not many of them are waiting to buy or able to afford a Bewley home! 

Richard Bourne

Cavalier Road

Old Basing

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