Milford residents pack parish council meeting to oppose Pennyfarthing Homes’ plans for 170 homes off Manor Road

Around 100 Milford residents packed a meeting to oppose plans for 170 homes on former greenbelt land adjacent to Manor Road.

Describing the proposal as “gross overdevelopment”, residents cited concerns over environmental damage, lack of infrastructure, access arrangements and flooding, as they urged Milford parish councillors to oppose the outline application by Pennyfarthing Homes.

As reported, a previous scheme for 190 homes on fields adjacent to Manor Road was amended and resubmitted a fortnight ago, leading residents to criticise an initial two-week time scale for comments as “unfair” and “disrespectful”.

The controversial plans for the site also prompted the creation of campaign group Milford Residents for Sustainable Development (MRSD) which is calling for the development to be reduced to no more than 110 homes as set out in the Local Plan. They also want to see a proposal for three access roads into the site reduced to one.

The latest amendment to the application has seen density reduced from 190 homes down to 170, with a range of one to five-bedroom affordable and market dwellings proposed across the 11.9 hectare site.

Speaking at the meeting, opponent Maggie Welsh said she had a number of concerns over the environmental impact of the development, including damage to the water quality at Danestream, Sturt Pond and along the coast at Keyhaven.

She said: “NFDC now expects developers to achieve biodiversity net gain of at least 10% when they develop a site, and from the end of January this will be a national requirement. This means developers should leave a habitat in a measurably better condition than they find it through creation and enhancement.

Mrs Welsh, continued: “But the developer’s own environmental report estimates a loss of 25% after mitigation. NFDC should not accept this.”

“The main reason why they can’t achieve the gains required is because the developer wants to build 170 houses.”

John Welsh also spoke in opposition, pointing out that the difference between the 110 homes figure in the local plan and the 170 proposed by Pennyfarthing was an uplift of 55%. He said: “The estate would be an urban area, totally out of keeping with the surrounding residential area, stuck on the edge of the village.”

“If NFDC follow their local plan, which should protect us from applications like these, and if they make an informed, professional decision, they can only come to one conclusion, and that is to turn it down.”

Karen Bentley raised concerns about the impact on the local sewage network, warning: “Rain and flooding have caused raw sewage to overflow in Keyhaven as recently as two weeks ago.”

She continued: “We believe it to be essential that the sewage, its disposal and the effect on the local community and the surrounding area be a prime consideration at the outline planning stage.”

Fears over the safety of pedestrians and particularly children attending the nearby primary school during the construction process were raised by Sue Fraiser, who told the meeting: “This presents a serious safety issue for all pedestrians on Manor Road. Not only will the pedestrians have to cross an access being used by construction traffic, there will be the continuous issue of larger vehicles trundling down Manor Road causing blockages.”

Following the presentation, Milford parish councillors unanimously agreed to oppose the outline plans, which will be decided by NFDC after the public consultation ends on 22nd December. So far the scheme has attracted 566 objections from residents.