More than 100 villagers on the march against housing plan for Milford fields

MORE than 100 residents have protested against Pennyfarthing Homes’ plans to develop farmland in Milford with 42 homes.

The demonstration, which took place on Saturday morning, was organised by the campaign group SLAM (School Lane and Manor Road) and saw placard-waving protesters marching along the B3058 to the village green.

SLAM members met at the corner of School Lane to voice their opposition to Pennyfarthing Homes’ scheme to build 42 homes on a field next to the village primary school. A representative from the Campaign for Rural England was also involved in the march alongside a number of youngsters.

The site, which is owned by J&D Edgar Ltd, was declassified as green belt around six years ago and marked out for development with around 30 homes – on condition that at least 70% of them were affordable.

Opponents claim the application for 42 homes, which includes six affordable and six shared ownership properties, falls far short – although Pennyfarthing argues seven open-market ‘starter homes’ should be included in the quota.

The application was rejected by New Forest District Council’s planning committee in July and a public inquiry will now be held into the company’s appeal.

Many of the banners used in the demonstration were created during a workshop session hosted by SLAM last week. Slogans included ‘Take back our greenbelt for Milford’s future’, ‘No to urban sprawl’, ‘Save our village’, ‘Pennyfarthing not worth tuppence’ and ‘No to second homes’.

SLAM spokesman Monica Murfitt said: “This development, if permitted, would concrete over large swathes of former green belt land, destroy much of its precious wildlife and ecosystems, exacerbate existing local drainage issues and do almost nothing to meet the needs for affordable housing in Milford; while generating a large profit for Pennyfarthing and the local land owner.”

Fellow campaigner Jennie Savage said: “Pennyfarthing’s latest application, which includes only a token number of affordable homes, means the vast majority of this exceptional green space would be built over to create homes far beyond the means of local people needing affordable housing.

“To make things even worse, SLAM predicts that many of these unaffordable homes will end up as second homes. There are already an estimated 700 second homes in Milford, many of which are unused for much of the year.”

Mrs Murfitt added: “SLAM believes that the affordable housing needed for Milford should be built on brownfield land which exists within the village perimeter; located in pockets of development across the village so it is integrated within the community; and done in a way that maintains the character of Milford’s street scene where appropriate.

“SLAM feels that it is important that a mechanism is put in place so that affordable properties are guaranteed to remain within the financial reach of local people long term, and cannot be sold at market value, reducing the supply of affordable housing.

“We believe that the Pennyfarthing development plan should be stopped by the government planning inspector at the upcoming public enquiry.”

Guy Peirson-Hagger, strategic planning manager from Pennyfarthing Homes, said: “We were aware of the protest that took place against our proposed project on School Lane in Milford on Saturday. We respect that all residents and groups are entitled to publicly express their opinions on local matters.”