Lymington Society AGM 26th March 2013

community-centreThe AGM will be in the Wellington Room at the Lymington Community Centre at 7:30 pm on Tuesday March 26th 2013.
The Lymington Society AGM is the main business meeting of the year when Members get a chance to stand for the Committee or nominate fellow members to the Committee. Election of officers takes place for the year ahead and following a report from the Chairman on the Society’s activities in the year; current important issues are debated and discussed.
Following the business section of the meeting we are pleased to announce that well known local historian James Jude will be giving an illustrated talk on the development of the railways around Lymington.

Randolph Schwabe. A Life in Art. Private View 29th January 2013

Private View at St Barbe Museum
6.00 PM—8.00 PM Tuesday the 29th of January 2013

SchwarbeVisitors to St Barbe’s Women’s Land Army exhibition in 2008/9 were struck by the heroic figures in Randolph Schwabe’s powerful and evocative oil paintings and drawings. The unprecedented interest in this neglected yet scholarly artist has resulted in a major retrospective exhibition curated by Dr Gill Clarke MBE which will showcase Schwabe’s varied output and demonstrate his significant contribution to 20th century British Art. He was employed as an Official War Artist in both world wars, producing a series on ‘Women on the Land’ in the First World War and portraits and drawings of bomb damage in the Second World War. This exhibition will also include his theatrical and ballet drawings, etchings, watercolours and book illustrations, many of which have not been on public display before.

Entry £5.00 to include refreshments.

Greenfield Site Development 2012

Green-fieldSites and Development Management Development Plan Document On 20 January 2012 the District Council will publish for a six week Representation period, the proposed Submission Document of the Sites and Development Management Development Plan Document. This follows a six week public consultation that took place in January to March 2011. The Sites and Development Management DPD will set out the detailed proposals and policies required to implement the planning strategy for the area agreed through the Core Strategy (adopted in 2009). The Plan will include the allocation of a limited amount of greenfield land for new development required to meet the local need for additional housing, affordable housing and employment land. It will also provide additional development management policies to assist the implementation of the Core Strategy.’

Between 2006 – 2026, the overall South East Plan requires 3,920 additional dwellings. As part of the Sites & Development Management plan the Council is looking at sites that could provide up to around 150 of these dwellings in Lymington & Pennington. The Council has acknowledged LymSoc’s input to their consultation and confirmed that they will take account of our comments. The deadline for comments has now expired but they say that they’ll notify us “towards the end of 2011″, of a further “six week period during which formal representations about the Plan may be made”

Chairman’s 2012 AGM Address

cropped-logo_small.jpgChairman’s 2012 AGM Address

50 years of the Society

Last year I reviewed the activities of the Society’s Committee under my chairmanship over the past 10 years or so. I have now been reminded by the Secretary, Dr Ivor Johnson, that this is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society. I believe it was formally instituted on 16 April 1962. One of its founder members was Bill Hope Jones who was our president until his death a few years ago. He continued to actively support the Society until he died.

Missing Records—can you help?

I have looked up some of the records of the Society which cover the decade of the 90s. If anyone else knows where the previous records are going back into the60s 70s and 80s then please do let us know. I don’t say they had an easy time of it in the 90s. There was the major planning appeal in relation to Buckland rings in 1987 and the ongoing issue of the siting of the hospital all the way through the 90s.

My reason for joining

It was the possibility of being able to push forward the development of the Hospital that encouraged me to join the Society’s Committee and to become its Chairman and very soon after, probably not due to any great effort on my part, the hospital was built and is a very splendid facility for the Town, whether one likes its location or not.

All change with the new millennium

Apart from the Hospital, things in the minutes in the 90s were some what routine. I don’t know whether it was the fault of the new Committee but, as I set out in my last Chairman’s speech last year, everything then happened. The Chicken Factory Site issue became active and has had a mind of its own ever since. Mr Prescott decided to encourage development on Brownfield sites and incorporated back gardens into the term Brownfield. That started a battle which lasted several years until the planners came round to our way of thinking following a public meeting, and the Government eventually modified its directives. previous meetings with envy. Possibly two or three letters to be discussed. These days not a day goes by without emails circulating amongst the Committee dealing with all these issues. We take the details them as read and discuss the wider principles at our Committee meetings. It is principles upon which an Amenity Society needs to operate. Its mission and message need to be clear. It is not an organisation for individual one-off issues important as they are. It has to look at the overall picture and argue to its strengths. That involves getting a good relationship with the planners and the local councillors, which I hope we have now achieved. That does not mean that we all agree all the time. As has happened this year we had surprise decisions not only from the District Councillors over Wetherspoon’s but also from the Town Councillors over Redrow. That does not mean that we fallout but that we put over our point of view to ensure that at the end of the daythe issue has been fully debated and properly considered by those bodies, do not agree with the current plan, but understandable. It is also understandable that a single issue organisation such as “Lymington Last Shores” using a website to attract support, fights on to get a much lower density. The Committee however feel that it has adopted a reasonable and responsible approach which prevents the Town from the risk of the 300 unit development rising to 4 to 5 stories.

…and Wightlink…

On the issue of the ferries the Society has finally seen to a conclusion, in the recent public enquiry, its efforts toensure that the introduction of the ferries was carried out on the basis of all appropriate investigations being carried out by the authorities rather than the presentation of a fait-accompli by Wightlink.

…and Wetherspoons

On Wetherspoon’s we have been surprised and shocked at the Council’s decision to grant the application in the teeth of local opposition and have expended some of our funds in establishing whether there were grounds to challenge that decision. There were, but on a pragmatic basis when it was clear to us that the decision would be likely to be repeated if set-aside after a very risky and expensive judicial review, the right decision was not to go further. Jonathan Hutchinson would like me to say that if any members criticise that decision he would like to know whether they were one of the few members who responded to his request for their views in making that decision.

This is your opportunity to say whether the Committee is doing what you think is right. The Advertiser and Times suggested that we were raising a white flag over Wetherspoon’s. I have sought to justify our position in the local paper. If you have any views let us have them tonight.

The Committee have to act on your behalf. I sit on various committees and Ihave to say that this is one of the most active and well integrated committees that I am involved with and I am lucky to be Chairman of it. I hope you will continue to support it.

Minutes of the Lymington Society AGM 2012

cropped-logo_small.jpg66 members attended the AGM on 20th March 2012.  Minutes of the 2011AGM had been circulated by post and on the website. Apologies received : Lt. Col. Chitty & Mr. Beaumont.

Mr. Sutton welcomed the Mayor and gave the Chairman’s Address (to be published in the newsletter and on the website).  He reminisced on the 50 year history of the Society and its involvement in the preservation of Buckland Rings and in the controversy over the site of the new hospital.

The Treasurer’s Report was given by Mr. Sheffer. He explained the expenditure on legal fees and the need to advertise important meetings concerning the Redrow site. Dr. Mackenzie appealed for members to send emails toinfo@lymsoc.co.uk  to reduce postage costs.  The accounts were then approved by a show of hands.

Mr. Sutton then opened the meeting for questions. Mr. Dixon ask about he maintenance of flower beds and verges, and Mr. Walrock commented on the poor state of pavements and parking areas.  Cllr. Rostand explained the difficulties of dealing with the multiple agencies involved. She congratulated Dr. Mackenzie and the Christmas Lights Committee.

Questions were asked about the licensing of Wetherspoons.  Cllr. Lewis said that opening hours had been reduced, but could not be blocked once permission for a pub had been granted by the planning authority.  She asked thatneighbours keep a careful log of any problems.  Mr. Sheffer reported the British Legion had similar licensing hours.

Mr. Hebard spoke of  the £23m. Coastal Community Fund.   Cllr. Rostand replied that the Council is aware and will appoint an events manager.

Mr. Sutton then paid tribute to the expertise and hard work of Jonathan Hutchinson, who is retiring from the Committee.  There being no nominations from the floor, re-election of current members of the Executive Committee: Clive Sutton, Derek Sheffer, Ivor Johnston,  Nic King, Donald Mackenzie, Nigel Seth-Smith and the co-opted member Tim Kermode was proposed by Cllr. Elizabeth Lewis and seconded by Wendy Couch and passed unanimously.

Dr. Mackenzie then  reported on the social activities of the past year and announced the Summer Garden Party in thegarden of Chawton House on 19th June 2012.

Cllr. Rostand than gave a brief account of preparations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee  and explained that the preparations for the Olympic torch were imposed from on high with no input from local councils.  She praised Cllr. Lewis’ organization for the Arts Festival on 18th – 24th June.

After refreshments, Angela Trend gave a talk on Lymington Town Tours illustrated with photographs of the many historical buildings and features demonstrated on the guided walks of the town conducted by volunteers.

The meeting closed at 10pm.

Whetherspoons letter to the editor

Editor Lymington times

Sir

I appreciate that it is necessary for front page reporting to summarise an issue and get a headline but when this headline does not really reflect the true position I hope you will allow a right of reply on your letters page.

The Lymington Society is not in the business of waving white flags. The Society is a body which looks after the interests of the whole Town on an objective and practical basis bearing in mind that any particular issue, whilst important, is one of many and once that issue has been dealt with as fully as possible it is time to move on and look after other issues. This is the distinction between the Lymington Society as an amenity Society, which has now coming up its 50th anniversary, and other single issue groups who may well be prepared to fight on until the last gasp over the issue with which they are concerned.

In the case of Wetherspoon’s we opposed both applications. We encouraged responses and there was a huge response of 900 individuals against planning permission on the second application. The decision did not reflect the views of the Town or the 900 objectors and the Society spent a lot of its resources in time and money in establishing whether the decision could be challenged. It might have been possible to challenge it but the view taken by the Committee was that even if there was a successful challenge then it was extremely likely that the same councillors would vote in the same way on another decision, which would be required as a result of a successful legal challenge, and a lot of time and effort would have been spent for nothing.

The Lymington Society has never been involved in licensing issues because they particularly affect individuals who live nearby. However if the licensing could have been a back door to preventing a public house in such a sensitive location then we would have objected, but consider seriously whether the council, which is now the licensing authority, would be likely to refuse an alcohol licence for a public house for which it had just granted planning permission.

All that could be achieved would be to limit the licensing hours, but that is a matter which is best argued by the neighbours for their own particular needs and by the police in respect of public order.

The main body of the press release was as follows and I hope you will allow it to be printed here. “The Lymington Society have supported the 900 individual objections to the location of the proposed Wetherspoons public house next to the church. A considerable amount of time and effort was spent in doing so and considering the validity of the eventual permission passed.

The permission has been granted and there is a hearing in respect of licensing. The Society’s opposition is not so much as to the extent of the licensing but to the fact of the public house in that location itself.

The Society’s view is that the hours of licensing and any conditions placed on the premises are matter for the neighbours who would be directly affected, the police who will need to monitor it and potentially the Town Council if they feel it appropriate to express a view on licensing in the Town centre.

It has not been the Society’s practice to become involved in licensing matters which would have the effect of preferring or disadvantaging one licensed premises over another once planning permission has been approved in principle.

If as a result of the operation of the premises, representations to the licensing authority are clearly in the interests of the Town then Society would reconsider its position.”

The Society’s Committee is conscious that the combination of it’s lack of legal action against the Council in respect of Wetherspoon’s and its acceptance of the current plans in relation to the Redrow site, are tending to give the misleading impression that the Committee is accepting the power of large organisations in pushing through planning applications which the townspeople don’t want.

The Committee can only deal with the art of the possible and if it is likely, as in the case of Wetherspoon’s, that the Council Planning Committee will maintain a subsequent decision, and in the case of Redrow that the developers could fall back on a previous planning application with a extra 100 units then the Committee will object as long as reasonably possible, or negotiate the best outcome, and continue to deal with other issues. Currently the next issue is the amount of green belt land surrounding Lymington that should be allocated for housing.

The Society’s AGM has been advertised for 20 March at 7:30 PM at the Community Centre and of course members are welcome to take the Committee to task if it is not carrying out their wishes. The meeting has been publicly advertised and it is hoped that non members will attend as observers and if they feel strongly about the Town, then join the Society and make their voices heard. The first question asked by any inspector or barrister in any planning appeal or enquiry is to know what membership the Lymington Society represents!

Yours sincerely

Clive Sutton

Chairman

W Class ferries Press Release

Lymington Society Press Release 18.02.09

Natural England confirms that the W. class ferries will have significant adverse effect on Lymington River

Lymington Society argue that any environmental impact must be mitigated within the River

Lymington Society Fully Supports Continued Ferry Service to the IOW

The Lymington Society firmly supports continuation of a reliable, environmentally friendly and modern ferry service from Lymington to Yarmouth which we acknowledge brings tremendous benefit to both communities. However this must not be at the risk of damage to the EU protected Natura 2000 habitats which the whole community wishes to see protected.

Lymington Society Argued for Full Environmental Impact Assessment of New Ferries

Since the W. class ferries were first announced in 2007, the Lymington Society has been concerned to ensure that the Wightlink proposal to bring very much larger ferries to the Lymington River was subjected to detailed scrutiny by the authorities and was instrumental in persuading Natural England that this proposal required detailed environmental scrutiny. We would have preferred that a Full Environmental Impact Assessment had been carried out rather than the more limited Appropriate Assessment (AA) which only looks at environmental concerns.

The Society Has Been Actively Involved during the Appropriate Assessment Process.

However, during the AA process, we have been co-operating fully with Natural England and their marine consultants, HR Wallingford, to ensure that all aspects of the environmental impact have been fully considered, including making detailed submissions and attending briefing meetings as a stakeholder in the process.

HR Wallingford Concluded That W. Class Ferries Will Cause “Adverse Effect” to the EU Protected Habitats in the LymingtonRiver Contrary to European Habitats Directives

As has now been reported in the Lymington Times, the HR Wallingford report concluded that due to insufficient control by the authorities of their speed, the current C Class ferries have over many years caused major environmental damage and loss mudflats and salt marshes along the length of the Lymington River.

  • HR Wallingford confirmed that the majority of the damage that has occurred in the upper reaches of the river since the ferries arrived in the mid-19 70s is due to the operation of the ferry service and not as many has claimed due to tidal flow or increased wind and wave action.
  • Although the current ferries have been more tightly controlled since 2007, HR Wallingford predict that they will continue to cause some further erosion to the protected habitats in the river if they continue in service at the current speed.
  • HR Wallingford have concluded that the W. class ferries, despite going slower than the C Class used to, will cause the same amount of erosion to the protected habitats and the river generally as the C Class did when their speed was allowed to be in excess of the speed limit.
  • They are predicting that the wave action caused by the W Class ferries on the intertidal mudflats will cause adverse effect to 1.3 hectares of mud flat per decade.
  • In addition the scouring action of the much more powerful Voight Schneider engines will deepen the river by at least half a metre causing a widening of the river by 20%. This could cause the loss of 3.7 hectares of saltmarsh, mainly in the Lymington River in the next 30 years or so.
  • Direct action of the thrusters on the riverbank, when turning corners or when steering to avoid being blown off course by the wind, may have a direct effect on the riverbank and the intertidal areas.
  • There is a large amount of uncertainty concerning the effects of the thrusters on the riverbank and the intertidal areas and the effects may be significantly greater than currently calculated.

Natural England’s Advice to the Regulators

Following the publication of the HR Wallingford report, Natural England have concluded that Wightlink have failed to demonstrate that the new ferries will not cause an adverse effect on the protected habitats to which the Lymington river runs.

Natural England’s Position on Mitigation of the Effects of the W. Class Ferries

Operational Mitigation Not Sufficient to Reduce Adverse Effect to Acceptable Levels

It was originally thought that changes to the methods of operation of the new ferries (so-called operational mitigation), such as speed reductions, or restrictions on passing in the river, might be sufficient to reduce the damage caused by the new ferries to an acceptable level.

Following discussions with the Harbour Commissioners and Wightlink, Natural England have concluded that no operational mitigation will reduce the adverse effects of the W. Class to an acceptable level.

Mitigation of Adverse Effects by Habitat Re Creation

Natural England indicates in their advice that instead of operational mitigation, they are willing to consider allowing Wightlink to pay for re-creation of alternative habitats elsewhere in the Solent Maritime SAC (Special Area of Conservation).  This is regarded as an alternative mitigation of the effects of the new ferries rather than operational mitigation which was previously considered likely.

Currently no scheme of mitigation through habitat recreation has been designed or approved and this will take some time to be designed and costed and agreed with natural England. Natural England state that any habitat re-creation scheme offered by Wightlink as mitigation, must have a high degree of probability of being successful to allow it to be accepted as mitigation for the effects of the W. class ferries.

Consideration of Natural England’s Advice in Light of the H R Wallingford Report

With the release of the final HR Wallingford report on the likely environmental impact of the W. class ferries on the river and the issuing by Natural England of their advice to the Regulators, whose permission Wightlink require to operate the service, the Full Committee of the Lymington Society has discussed the impact that the ferries are likely to cause in the river and whether Wightlink should be allowed to commence commercial service using the W. class ferries

Consideration of Natural England’s Current Position

The effects of Natural England’s advice is that they appear to be accepting that the upper reaches of the Lymington river and the Inner Harbour will be subject to possibly major environmental damage with loss of salt-marshes, mudflats and general visual amenity and that Wightlink will be allowed to pay for this lost habitat to be recreated elsewhere in the Solent maritime SAC

Natural England’s Acceptance of Adverse Effect on the Lymington River Undermines Breakwater Scheme Recently Approved by Natural England

However another proposal concerning the Inner Harbour and upper reaches of the river, was recently also approved by Natural England. This involves the proposal by the Harbour Commissioners to build two large stone breakwaters to protect the remaining salt marshes still remaining in the Lymington River. It is thought by most observers that without this protection, much of the remaining salt marshes in Lymington River will be lost in the next 10 to 20 years – exposing the harbour to the full effects of increasing storms due to global warming.

It is likely that within the next 20 to 30 years, much of the remaining saltmarsh in the Solent will be lost due to what is called “costal squeeze” as rising sea levels overwhelm existing salt marshes which are unable to retreat inland due to harbour walls such as the sea wall around the Salterns.

Position of the Lymington Society in Light Natural England’s Advice

Sacrifice of Lymington River saltmarshes and environment not acceptable to allow Wightlink to bring larger ferries to the river

Whilst understanding that Natural England with its regional and national remit, may take the view that recreated habitat elsewhere in the Solent Maritime SAC may be acceptable as an alternative to habitat lost in the Lymington River, the Society does not feel that Lymington should be asked to effectively sacrifice its mudflats and salt marshes, which the new breakwaters are supposed to protect and their replacement by salt-marshes in another part of the Solent.

We therefore do not find it acceptable that Wightlink should be given permission to operate a service which it is now knownwill cause possibly major damage to the Lymington River and be allowed to offset this by creating salt marshes somewhere else in the area.

All Alternatives Should Be Fully Examined before Allowing Adverse Effect on the Lymington River.

Under European law and the operation of the Habitats Directive, compensatory mitigation such as habitat re-creation should not be considered until all alternatives have been examined and the minister at Defra has declared that the development in question must go ahead because of Overriding Public Interest. Compensatory habitat re-creation may then be considered as an absolute last resort.

Natural England has indicated that habitat recreation inside the designated protected area (in this case the Solent Maritime SAC) does not count as “compensatory mitigation” under EU law and they argue that they are allowed to consider such re-creation of habitat before considering alternatives. We understand that legal advice is being taken by various parties including the Lymington River Association on this interpretation of EU law

The Society Does Not Agree That All Alternatives Have yet Been Fully Considered

The Society understands that all three of the old ferries are still available and that (subject to their annual passenger certificate being renewed) they could continue in service for the foreseeable future. It has become public knowledge that at the time of the sale of Wightlink to the current owners, the report on the current ferries produced by naval architects Hart Fenton concluded that the ferries could be used for an additional period of at least another 10 years.

Statutory Duty of the Harbour Commissioners to Protect the Environmental Integrity of the Lymington River

It is our understanding that the Lymington Harbour Commissioners have a statutory duty to protect the environmental integrity of the area under their control and protection. If they allowed the W. Class ferries to commence operation, knowing in advance that environmental damage and adverse effect, would take place on the remaining saltmarshes and the natural beauty of the Lymington River, this may be considered by some to be incompatible with their obligations to protect theLymington River and Harbour.

In addition, due to the uncertainty described by HR Wallingford, the direct effects of the thrusters on the riverbed and the intertidal areas (which may well be much greater than currently estimated,) the level of the adverse effect which the river might be subject to, is completely unknown at this stage and may be much greater than feared.

We therefore call on the Harbour Commissioners to use the precautionary principle and put the protection of the Lymington River and the salt marshes, which their own breakwaters are being built to protect, first and to refuse Wightlink permission to allow these much larger ferries, which it is now known will cause possibly major environmental harm and loss of amenity to the town, to start a regular service in the Lymington River

Speaking after the Lymington Society committee meeting, Dr Donald Mackenzie Press Spokesman for the Lymington Society said:

“Because of the large increase in size of the W. Class ferries compared with the old ones and the equally large increase in engine power and windage, it was always likely that the new ferries would prove to be significantly more damaging to the EU designated Natura 2000 habitats and the Lymington River generally, than the current ferries.

This has now proved to be the case, and many hectares of habitats – which are supposed to be protected to the highest level under their EU Natura 2000 designations, are likely to be destroyed or degraded by the new ferries over the years ahead – especially in the upper reaches of the Lymington River and in the inner harbour.

It is very regrettable that for so long the current ferries have been allowed to routinely travel faster than the recognized speed limit and that they have been found to have caused so much damage – especially in the upper reaches of the river.

From the start, the position of the Lymington Society on the new ferries has been to press the authorities to fully and properly investigate all aspects of the environmental and safety impacts that these new ferries might cause.

The Society successfully lobbied Natural England and the regulators involved, to give this proposal the scrutiny which we felt it should have and we have been co-operating with Natural England and their consultants HR Wallingford through regular meetings and other communications, to ensure that all aspects of the possible environmental impacts were properly considered

It is now clear that the W. class ferry will definitely cause increased environmental damage to a large area of the river in the years ahead. It is also clear that there is very considerable uncertainty about how much damage may be caused and that the potential is for the damage to be significantly worse than has currently been estimated, if the effects of the thrusters are as great as some people fear they may be. If ever there was a case for the use of the “precautionary principle” when deciding environment issues, then this is such a case.

The area north of Pylewell, where HR Wallingford have implicated the ferries in causing most of the loss of habitat over the years, is supposed to be protected by the new breakwaters for which the Harbour Commissioners have only just received permission from Natural England

It is therefore doubly important that this vital natural resource for wildlife in the Lymington River, as well as for the amenity value of the scenery – which we all take the granted, is properly protected and not sacrificed for future generations, in order to allow Wightlink to increase the level of traffic – especially lorries and buses – which they carry to the island.

It would be perverse indeed if having been given permission by Natural England to build new breakwaters to protect the remaining River saltmarshes, the Harbour Commissioners consented to a new environmentally damaging ferry service which then put at risk those very same saltmarsh habitats.

We believe that there it is a viable alternative to bringing the W. class ferries into service, as the old ferries are still all available and could be pressed into service quickly once they have been through their annual recertification process.

 We therefore call on the Lymington Harbour Commissioners to put the interests of Lymington ahead of that Wightlink and to make it clear that these ferries are simply too large and too damaging to be allowed to start regular commercial service in the Lymington River.”

Dr Donald F. Mackenzie

Lymington Society Press Spokesman

Local Distinctiveness South of the High Street


To the south of the High Street, modern Lymington has emerged from several former large estates which dominated much of the the area until the middle of the twentieth century;  Woodside, Fairfield and South Hayes among them.   Many of the avenues connecting the town’s central conservation area to that on its largely nineteenth century south-eastern edge – Church Lane, Waterford Lane, Broad Lane, Belmore Lane, Rooke’s Lane – retain in their names reminders of their origins and their character.   The houses which grew up along and between them as the original estates were sold off reflect the architectural styles of their times, but for the most part share common characteristics of generous spacing and comparatively low height, set among mature green growth and open spaces.   In recent years these characteristics have been to some extent been compromised by modern housing estates with greater density and depressingly uniform appearance.   Two of them (Farnley’s Mead and Grove Place, both built around 1985/6) have matured well and merged into their older surroundings, and others in the Old Orchards area have at least retained a substantial number of mature trees and open spaces.   More recent development has taken a new and unwelcome direction, with the demolition of perfectly sound houses in favour of more numerous, larger, taller and more ostentatious buildings on their former gardens.

 

Belmore Lane, not long ago described even by a developer as “semi-rural”, was until recently lined by comparatively modest 1½-storey or 2-storey houses most of which were semi-hidden by hedges and trees.  Since 2001 it has come under prolonged attack by developers, and three of its houses have been or are being replaced by 14 flats and 11 other houses, with concomitant intrusions on both the skyline and the former open space.   Several other houses with generous gardens are known to be of interest to developers, but any further development of the kind now in progress will inflict irreversible damage on the character of this lane.

 

Two offshoots sharing an exit from Belmore Lane are Fairfield Close and Courtenay Place.   Both feature space, low rise buildings, mature trees and greenery in generous gardens.   Fairfield Close is an attractive remnant of the former Fairfield Estate, of which it formed the kitchen garden, and is lined by walls of mostly ancient reclaimed bricks.   It has three eighteenth century buildings which once housed the estate’s stables, coach house and fruit house.   Adjoining the central Conservation Area, it deserves serious consideration for inclusion within it to preserve its mature and pleasant aspect from risk of dense and inappropriate development.   Courtenay Place is by some margin the most attractive of the town’s rather too numerous mock-Georgian terrace developments, being set in mature and spacious grounds and visually discreet.   It could not take further development without losing its essential character.

 

Further down Belmore Lane away from the town centre, Farnley’s Mead was an estate development of the 1980s consisting of substantial detached houses set in medium-sized plots.   It attracted criticism at the time on account of its perceived higher-than-normal density, but it has matured well and the houses and gardens are uniformly well maintained.

 

Rooke’s Lane, bordering the northern edge of the extensive Woodside Park, fronts a pleasingly diverse mixture of entirely appropriate modest houses in the style of the mid-20th century, set in generous gardens among mature greenery.   It also gives access to a discreet unsurfaced and unnamed lane just west of Newenham Road, one of several which are a feature of the town, which leads to several attractive houses set in mature and generous gardens typical of the mid-20th century.   Newenham Road and Lockerley Close are more modern, with detached family houses in contemporary styles set in slightly smaller gardens.   Modest infilling might be acceptable if carried out in the same architectural idiom, but the intrusion of brutal dense building blocks such as those imposed on Belmore Lane would destroy the visual balance of this pleasant neighbourhood.

 

Between Rooke’s Lane and Belmore Road to the north lies an estate laid out along the pattern of roads served by Bitterne Way and Old Farm Walk.   The houses are of the same designs as those which line Daniell’s Walk, suggesting that they were built a tthe same time and by the same builder in the years after the Second World War.   Like those in Daniell’s Walk, many have since been modifed and extended, bringing some pleasing variety to the neighbourhood, but together they have a noticeably different character and distinctiveness which comes from the general absence of large mature trees and the conspicuously neat and high standard of both house and garden maintenance throughout the estate, giving it a strikingly “factory-fresh” appearance.   Some recent tall and dense development in Ravenscourt Road and the newly-created Londesborough Place off Stanford Hill throw this neat appearance into even greater relief.   There has been some infill development which matches the surrounding s in style.   Large-scale dense redevelopment would impose serious damage on the character of this attractive area

 

All Saints Road is bordered to the north by the extensive housing estates of Vitre Gardens, Old Orchards and Anchorage Way, all typical estates of the late 20th and early 21st century.   No doubt they are all practical and efficient houses, but their visual uniformity and dense spacing are saved from anonymity only by the retention of some mature trees and hedges, and a good measure of open space, which do provide a visual link to the nearby New Forest.   The houses are all likely to undergo incremental change year by year as owners adapt and extend them.   Such changes should be welcomed so long as they are in scale, as they add detail and variation to the dull uniformity of  such large-scale developments.

 

To the south of All Saints Road, the “Woodside Triangle”, the southernmost neighbourhood of the town bounded by Viney Road, Woodside Lane and All Saints Road itself, abuts the open fields of the New Forest to the south and west.   The triangle’s buildings, set in generous plots among mature trees and shrubs, range from modest 19th-century or older cottages through inconspicuous 1½-storey homes to the substantial modern mid-20th-century 2-storey  houses bordering the unadopted Woodside Avenue.   One attractive aspect of their collective character is that no two are alike but all are complementary.   The parish church of All Saints stands at the north-east corner of the area and the listed Woodside Manor at the southern apex of the triangle.   Several of the houses fronting All Saints Road have in recent years been imaginatively modernised and restored, adding features such as a new crinkle-crankle wall and a thatched annex to the thatched De La Warr House.   The area embodies features which successfully reflect both the historic town to the north and the Forest to the south.  Inappropriate redevelopment here would impose serious injury on the character of the town and its relationship with the Forest.

 

Church Lane and its southern extension Broad Lane are similar in character to Belmore Lane.   Its northern end in the central conservation area, which once formed the boundary between the Fairfield and Grove estates, is is lined by listed buildings and ancient walls, two of which are of the characteristic serpentine or crinkle-crankle type, which give way to a more open aspect bordered by housed differing widely in style and size, again set among mature trees and greenery.   The houses on the eastern side of the lower Church Lane (south of the Conservation Area), two of them completed quite recently, are all substantial buildings set in comparatively large gardens and well screened from the road by dense hedges.   The plots are known to be of interest to developers, but the destruction of such recent substantial and attractive buildings in pursuit of greater densities would be indefensible on sustainability grounds alone.

 

Daniell’s Walk (with its offshoot Daniell’s Close), which links the road to Belmore Lane, was at one time a path across the Fairfield Estate but was developed as a housing estate following the sale of the latter in the 1950s.  Its borders feature two massive Monterey pines (a third has recently been felled, creating a substantial gap in the skyline).   Its houses stand in long narrow gardens featuring mature greenery and are variations of a uniform style, some being bungalows and some having 1½ storeys or added loft extensions.   They were originally constructed from common materials with little variation of texture or colour, but many have been extended, re-roofed or otherwise altered and the appearance of the whole is now pleasingly varied.   Extensive redevelopment would seriously threaten the character of the whole unless it were of similar style, a successful example of which may be seen on the north side of the road near its western end.

 

Broad Lane and its several offshoots feature a range of buildings from the large modern estates off the Orchards through the Edwardian development  of Burrard Closeand the substantial modern houses of Tranmere Close to the low-rise houses of widely varying ages and styles fronting the road itself, all set in mature greenery.  Some of the offshoot lanes, such as Bingham Drive, Ambleside Road and Goldmead Close, serve small estate developments all of which probably took shape following the sale of the Fairfield Estate in 1950.   The buildings are of fairly uniform mid-20th-century style and some stand in what today are seen as generous plots.    Though perfectly serviceable, they are in no way distinctive within the character of the wider town and could accept redevelopment as opportunity arises.   A recent attempt to replace a single house at the juction of Bingham Drive and Chrch Lane with a terrace development was rejected as inappropriate and has not been renewed.

 

Broad Lane has one unnamed, unsurfaced offshoot lane, immediately north of the Orchards estate, in the manner of that described earlier off Rooke’s Lane.   It has no name, but serves several diverse and attractive houses as far as its head, which backs on to Pyrford Lodge, off Belmore Lane to the west.   Like its peer lanes elsewhere in the town,, it contribute a pleasant rural feel to the local character which would be destroyed by dense redevelopment.

 

Waterford Lane, with its offshoot Waterford Close, was until recently another pleasant green corridor between Church Lane and Stanley Road, lined at its northern end by closely-spaced two-and three-storey houses set in generous gardens with mature greenery.   That character has however been considerably altered by recent planning approvals, which have approved the demolition of five serviceable two-storey houses and their replacement by 22 taller (2 storeys plus attic), tightly packed and in some cases ostentatious new dwellings (the 14 terrace houses in Abbots Brook, for example, featuring a bizarre orange brick which has no equivalent anywhere else in the town) which together form an unwelcome visual assault on the integrity of the area.  Towards its southern end, the character of the lane changes as it merges with Brook Road, where the buildings are smaller and more tightly packed in the manner of an unpretentious seaside town.   This group belongs to the Queen Katherine Road group described later.

 

Skirting the southern boundary of the Conservation Area eastwards from Church lane, the 1980s development of  South Grove features a group of substantial houses set in comparatively small plots among mature trees and greenery.   The houses (three recent additions are nearing completion) have matured well and merged with the character of the Conservation Area to the north.   A case can be made for their inclusion in that Area.   The contiguous commercial site immediately to the east, currently occupied by Travis Perkins but earmarked for housing should it become vacant, will need careful development if the result is not to contrast uncomfortably with its neighbours.

 

Queen Katherine Road and its close parallel neighbour Bath Road both serve to connect the town centre Conservation Area to the Kings Saltern Conservation Area, along the line of the river’s west bank.   Their character is markedly different to that of the lanes further to the west.   The substantial bulk of the Berthon boatyard and the smaller Sanders sail loft are prominent immediately south of the central Conservation Area, with a few substantial detached houses fronting the northern end of Queen Katherine Road where it joins Nelson Place.   The domestic architecture immediately south of these is dominated by buildings between the roads which are instantly recognisable as being of the uniform, nationwide semi-detached council house style of the 1930s and 1940s.   Most of these houses are now privately owned and some have undergone extension and alteration, thereby introducing some welcome visual variety.   A few, however, appear to have been neglected, detracting from the appearance of the whole.   Most have comparatively long but narrow gardens which could accept development on an appropriate scale.

 

The character of the Bath Road/Queen Katherine Road corridor changes to the south, becoming more tree-lined and featuring mainly detached houses of varying designs in larger gardens.   Solent Avenue is densely tree-lined throughout, its buildings standing well back from the road, with a character of its own as it leads down to the northern edge of the Kings Saltern Conservation Area at the Recreation Ground.

 

Brook Road, Spring Road, Westfield Road north of the Conservation Area and Stanley Road all feature closely-spaced, unpretentious houses built over a long period starting probably in the mid-19th century and continuing with replacements and infills to the present day.   The area has a character of its own, distinct from that of the rest of the town and not unlike that of a working west country port town, most of the houses having the air of having been built for those who earned their living from the sea.   Exceptions are Springfield Close and Mayflower Close, both of which have modern detached houses in generous plots similar to those found elsewhere in the town, though with less surrounding green growth.   The area as a whole provides an orderly transition between the leafier lanes to the north and west and the maritime character of the contiguous Conservation Area to the south.   Sympathetic redevelopment would be possible so long as it preserved the subtly varying styles which make the area distinct.

 

Local Distinctiveness North of the High Street

Local Distinctiveness North of the High Street

 

Draft narrative as a background to local distinctiveness prepared by Clive Sutton in respect of the area to the east of Southampton Road and the north of the High Street.

 

Southampton road from St Thomas’s Park going north.

 

We are very lucky to have the attractive Georgian houses on the west side of Southampton Road Road.  It is true that they are mirrored on the right-hand side by 1930s detached houses but because of the width of the road the two styles are distinctive and complement each other.

 

There have so far been two intrusions into the east side of Southampton Road between St Thomas’s Park and the traffic lights but these have not irreparably changed the character, as although both created flats and to a certain extent set precedents, they have not significantly changed the character of the Southampton Road at that point.

 

Any further developments of flats as opposed to houses will start to tip the balance and instead of the cottages on the west side being reflected by the present variety of housing on the west side they will be overwhelmed by any further multiple ownership housing.

 

Accordingly any changes of housing on his side should only be to a similar style and density. The 1960s row of chalet bungalows could be replaced on that basis with single ownership two-storey housing.

 

Southampton Road Avenue Road junction.

 

This is a curious configuration of a one-way street coming in to a major crossroads and adds interest to the junction.

 

That is going to be substantially prejudiced by the planning permission which has been given for the McCarthy warden assisted accommodation, due to the substantial scale of the building and its uninterrupted mass around the corner which cannot be hidden by the varying types of roofs which are being employed.

 

The junction is going to be a clash between the older buildings in the conservation area and the more modern buildings for which permission has been given on the northern corners of the crossing and unfortunately those buildings will subtly alter the tone of both Southampton Road and Avenue Road, and must not be allowed in future to set a precedent for any further changes.

 

The remainder of Southampton Road to the north of the traffic lights has a pleasing and relaxed feel of detached houses and gardens set back with the notable exception of St Andrews Lodge.  That building must not be allowed to be reflective of the distinctiveness of that part of Southampton Road.

 

There has been the replacement of a bungalow on the other side of the road with a detached house which when it is occupied will sit very well with in the street scene the developers of that property are to be congratulated.  It should set the tone for any replacement houses that maybe needed because of any unsuitability of any existing houses which are not capable of being modernised.

 

Development has already taken place on the west side near Alexandra Road.  Tyler’s Close could in due course, if commercially necessary, be redeveloped into individual houses within an estate.

 

At Alexandra Road, Southampton road becomes more interesting following the original curved route dating back to the 15th century as shown on the original 16 century Buckland map.

 

The Grosvenor Mews development is set back behind high foliage.  Any redevelopment of the Grosvenor Mews buildings, if that was ever commercially necessary, would need to be to an attractive standard at no greater density.

 

An example of such development has already taken place on the hospital site where new houses do not impinge on the character of Southampton Road although they are artificially divorced from that in the same way as Grosvenor Mews and Tylers close.

 

This has, to a certain extent set a pattern for the road, with some houses fronting the road and some areas where the houses look away from the road.  This variety is a feature of Southampton Road.

 

At Hollywood Lane the road becomes almost rural leading on to the Tollhouse Pub and the open fields behind it and then on to the open fields to the left approaching the Marsh Lane roundabout.

 

The Marsh Lane roundabout will form an area of distinctiveness and is heavily used by traffic.  The western side will never be built upon due to the Hampshire County Council ownership.  The North-East corner has the new Ambrose Corner development by Coltens, yet to be completed, but on the basis of what is there already and what has been built further on it will not be unattractive housing so long as there is a reasonable amount of foliage fronting the road.  Again the houses will be facing away from the road into their own cul-de-sacs.  No doubt when the development is finished the roundabout could be made more attractive and some of the street furniture and telegraph poles improved.

 

The problematical area is the two semi-detached houses and large bungalow on the southeast side which could be considered a possible development prospect.

 

Any developer would wish to bring new development closer to the road, although there is a big separation by the layby which presumably cannot be built on.  Any redevelopment of that area would be unfortunate and unnecessary because it would expand and diminish the effectiveness of the sensitive redevelopment which has already taken place on the east side of Southampton Road from Marsh Lane to the railway bridge.

 

That area has achieved its own local distinctiveness by a development which could at first have seemed an unnecessary replacement for individual houses in their own gardens, but having been nearly completed has achieved an attractive frontage to the west side of the road with the possible exception of the unnecessary square “Tesco” Tower building halfway along.  Otherwise the frontage housing is attractive and the rear housing is as attractive as one would expect from a development of that necessary density.

 

Reaching the railway bridge the two new flat blocks of affordable housing have sat well in their surroundings since they were built, contained as they are by both the bank of the road and the railway line.

 

South of them is an area still to be developed subject to planning permission were there has been an argument over the density and the perhaps in the current climate the developers could look to a lesser density.

 

The relatively new development of the Ampress Park industrial side with its garage and reclad units of the Wellworthy factory with extensive areas for building and of course the hospital, has overall been a success.

 

The area has been reserved for commercial use but if that must be changed it would not be entirely inappropriate for there to be housing mixed with commercial use.

 

With the garage shop providing such a wide range of supplies there is almost a community feel growing up with the new developments on Southampton Road using that shop as its local store and also the use of the shop by people working in the Ampress site and the hospital.

 

There is the old Wellworthy car parks site underdeveloped where a hotel is being thought to be the right answer and probably still is, but if necessary similar housing to that on the south side of the railway bridge would not be out of place there.

 

The extent of the redevelopment so far in the town can be appreciated by observing the Marsh Laneroundabout which is the main artery into the town from the North and the amount of continuous traffic coming in to continue both along Southampton Road or Marsh Lane.

 

Marsh Lane is a new connecting road built 30 years ago to access the eastern part of the town and serve the new estates on either side. Those estates are now matured and the road has a wide and pleasant aspect.

 

It leads into the southern Marsh Lane area of functional industrial development of factories of the original Marsh Lane together with local authority depots and an unmade residential road on the west side.  The allotments are undeveloped and during an area of demand for allotments are unlikely to be developed, but if necessary, presumably with low density housing preferably fronting the road to create a street scene rather than another enclosed development would be appropriate.  However retention of the open allotment space would be preferable to create a distinct break between the industrial area to the south and the estates to the north.

 

There is a general area of openness because of the grass verges on the other side of Marsh Lanebetween the road and the railway line and of course the undeveloped marshes beyond.

 

East Hill roundabout with development all round it now completed seems more attractive than theMarsh Lane roundabout having less signs and street clutter.  It is complemented by the new housing fronting the street and reflecting the remainder of Gosport Street.  The developers seem to have achieved the benefit of the houses fronting the road whilst being serviced for vehicles at the rear.  This has led to small gardens and a rather utilitarian parking and garage forecourt area at the rear but it is functional and has allowed the frontage is to be closer to the road and attractive.

 

There is housing on the north east corner of the Gosport Street and Bridge Road roundaboutwhich is possibly part private and part local authority and may be subject to development pressures in the future.  It is at the moment all uniform 1930s housing, and any redevelopment of an individual house into what would be likely to be more intensive development would break up the uniform rooflines.

 

The whole area of the roundabout, whilst nothing special in architectural terms, is established and appropriate in its surroundings quite close to the town.  One bungalow to the use of the roundabout could usefully be redeveloped into a house to reflect the adjoining houses in the same way as the redevelopment of the bungalow in Southampton Road has done.

 

Gosport Street is an attractive mixture of Edwardian and Victorian houses of which there has been a partial redevelopment in Canterbury house which, whilst fussy, is successful.

 

The unknown question in this area is the potential redevelopment of the factory units on the southeast corner of the roundabout which will no doubt occur when there is a new upsurge in housing prices.

 

Any redevelopment must reflect the existing houses to the south of the site and opposite side ofGosport Street and again it may be unfortunate if houses face inwards and away from the street.  They should face the road in some form or other probably with rear vehicle access in order to reflect the distinctiveness created by the other houses facing the road in a similar way in this area.

 

Any redevelopment of the Jewson building or site if that were to take place would need to be on a similar basis and of course in replacing the Jewson building that could reasonably be dense development because of the existing mass of the building.

 

Planning has already being granted for a high building on the corner of Gosport Street and North Close and it is hoped that that will be in keeping but that will be a marker to any further development in Gosport Street as to whether it is successful or not.

 

Canon Street has of course the Jewson Yard as a potential for development and of course it is unnecessary to have a builder’s yard like that so close to the shopping area because it would normally be accessed by vehicles rather than pedestrians.

 

On the north side of Canon Street there is an area no doubt to be susceptible to redevelopment consisting of a row of garages with gardens behind.  Any such development would no doubt reflect the old school (Mosbach Place) development which when looking up from Canon Street is still excessively high at its west end, although the east end frontage is attractive and redolent of a 1930s style development.  That design could be reflected in any development on the corner of Canon Street and North Close.

 

The Tesco’s car park area relates to the High Street and should only be redeveloped for car park purposes in some format but such redevelopment will be dependent on the overall parking issues within the town.

 

Turning into North Close, a most attractive development is the library set, as it is, back into higher ground.

 

The Edwardian houses in the part of North Close running down to Gosport Street are very attractive and their distinctiveness in the environment must be protected, and this to a certain extent has been achieved by the new single storey units on the North East end of the street which could have been slightly more imaginative.

 

Moving down Bridge Street, the same comment as to the redevelopment of the industrial side apply as applied in Gosport Street, although development could be much more setback given the area of openness to reflect the existing housing on the other side.

 

Moving beyond the level crossing is the stand alone planning issue of the Webb Site which hopefully will now achieve its distinctiveness in the low density housing and riverside frontage now anticipated for that site and will not be completely separated from Lymington so that residents can access Lymington by way of a pedestrian accessway.  It is also important that the frontage to the river is attractive as it is viewed so much from the road on the Walhampton side, and the design of the new development on the Webb Site needs to take this into account and it will no doubt be attractive for the occupiers of the new houses to have a frontage view over the River.

 

Waterloo Road has its special distinctiveness in being mixed attractive housing close to or exactly fronting the road in parts.  The Green Marine factory is an unknown quantity and it will be a political decision as to whether that will be replaced by housing or industrial units if redeveloped.

 

The feature of the road is the redevelopment of the old garage site with houses, albeit high but reflecting a river frontage feel of wharfs, which have succeeded without over dominating the remainder of the street and in particular Station Road.

 

Station Road development is now complete with those houses and is again attractive with its uniform terraced housing down both sides.  A similar situation applies in Mill Lane where the redevelopment is complete with the new Britannia Place.

 

The Quayside Marine being a riverside industry presumably will be a permanent fixture.

 

Going up East Hill there are attractive cottages at the lower end on the south side with local authority housing fairly close on the north side which will no doubt not be changed.

 

Back from East Hill is also the, presumably local authority, housing on the south side East of North Street.

 

There is a bungalow, Maycross, on East Hill which with the adjoining bungalow on the corner ofBroomfield Lane could lead to redevelopment.  Apart from the Old Masters House of the infirmary there would be no houses overlooking and there is no sense of a street identity here, which would be in fact created by new development which can be left to the creativity of an architect.

 

The Infirmary is an interesting redevelopment in the new Union Place.  The Infirmary of necessity was made into flats to preserve it and this has been achieved.  The new houses surrounding it are functional if unimaginative and reflect affordable accommodation.  The retention of the Masters House has been a master stroke in its aspect from the West and the East although the replacement of the brickwork of the western extension will blend in hopefully over time. The retention of the Masters House has avoided the isolation of the Infirmary building and put it in context.

 

The retention of the Infirmary wall and the Masters house wall in the East hill is attractive.

 

 

 

New Street now features the Hillcroft Close redevelopment which reflects the original Hillcroftbuilding and provides its own community and distinctiveness.  This will presumably be reflected by redevelopment of the Local Authority home on the other side of New Street.  However that development should not be as high as Hillcroft because of the fact that the ground is higher there and all it would overshadow everything else.

 

The remainder of New Street to has achieved its own distinctiveness of large houses either used as office or residential which sit well.

 

Madrissa Court and New Court House stand out as unfortunate additions and if they became time expired their redevelopment would be beneficial.  In fact Madrissa Court is probably the only example of conventional 60s flatted developments in the town and possibly through that horrific example the town has been saved for from similar development, until the recent permissions for dense development made to look like houses.

 

The McCarthy development of Rapunzel’s Tower is a grotesque confection of cones and peaks — and troughs — overshadowing the vernacular of the Borough Arms and small buildings adjoining.  The worst aspect of it is the Lower Buckland Road aspect where it creates a “Wall Street” effect against the other side of the road including, even the Archgate development.  It has made a mockery of the Borough Arms and the adjoining house which appears to be unsaleable.  Whether this will be significantly improved by the reduction in the height, now going through, remains to be seen.

 

The complete inappropriateness of the McCarthy development is clear from Union Place where the peaked roofs look like dragons teeth towering over the smaller houses of Lower Buckland Road.

 

There are bungalows opposite the McCarthy development on the south side of Avenue Road which will obviously lend themselves to re-development.  Lessons must be learnt and any redevelopment there should be two-storey houses preferably having a street frontage to give the street and an identity to reflect the frontages of the larger houses on the other side for the remainder of the central part of Avenue Road.

 

Those houses give the street a pleasing and open aspect but still retain an integrity and uniformity.  If necessary the two bungalows opposite the town hall exit could be redeveloped to two-storey houses.

 

Plantation Court may well be redeveloped in time but should be redeveloped to reflect the two-storey houses and not reflecting Cavendish Place which is just too overbearing.  When viewed from all sidesCavendish House resembles a beached ocean liner.  Using the example of the recent new houses at the northern end of Southampton Road, a similar density could have probably been achieved on this site without the need for such a huge block.

 

Looking across to the other side of the street is the building one might expect to see on Ocean Boulevard Miami, completely unconnected with any other building in the town and indeed unconnected with Cavendish Place.

 

The new houses adjoining Cavendish House are acceptable but look fairly blank and austere from the rear.

 

We have now reached the position of the new permitted development on the corner of the traffic lights setting a local distinctiveness now to be achieved as overwhelmingly of flatted dense developments in this area.  All that can be suggested is that the distinctiveness of this area is limited to its current boundaries and whilst it is a distinctive area of flatted developments it should not be extended any further and it can be treated during this generation of least as a lesson to those planners and planning inspectors who passed those buildings, particularly the McCarthy development at Lower Buckland Road

 

There is therefore a comparison of the local distinctiveness of this area of the North West end of Avenue Road to be set against any other area of Lymington to show that no other area of Lymington should have its existing local distinctiveness converted into this formula.

 

Some areas had been missed, notably Lower Buckland Road and Hollywood Lane — I only took one tape — and also other areas off the main roads