The Spring Update Email 2024 was sent to all members on the 14th of May 2024 and the full email update can be seen here. Click here to see Spring Update Email

The Top Stories in this Update were:

Top Stories This Edition

• Message from Don Mackenzie Chair of Lymington Society
• Social Programme for 2023 2024 Season very successful.
• Society Joins “Town Team” Initiative
• Redrow Site Deadlock Remains Despite Help From Local MP
• Lymington Society Working to Resolve the Future of the Literary Institute
• Neighbourhood Plan Progressing Slowly 
• Report on Plans for the Strategic Sites SS5 and SS6
• NFDC Unwilling to Arrange Meeting with Officers to Discuss Society Concerns
• Society Membership of Lymington Harbour Advisory Group
• Report on Lymington Society AGM March 2023. 

Message from the LymSoc Chair Don Mackenzie

Dear Lymington Society Member,

Welcome to the Spring 2024 Update Email
Welcome to our usual “Spring Email Update” for members, which follows the recent AGM Notice sent out in March. Thank you very much to all the members who came to the very successful AGM held in the Gates Hall, at the Lymington Centre on the 15th of March. See later in the Update for more details of the AGM

Quieter time for the Society on planning issues.
Following the final decision on the redevelopment of the former police station site, which was finally approved last year, the last few months have been less busy for the Society in terms of major planning initiatives or applications.

Major “SS5” Site off Milford Road Given Permission.
The major development of the housing site to the east of the road to the Efford Amenity Tip, part of the so called SS5 site, has now been decided. The main area of concern over this development was not the site itself, but the potential danger of the entrance from the very busy Milford Rd, very near to the road to the HCC Amenity Tip, and a new future access road to the other part of the SS5 site to the north of Milford Road nearby.

Lymsoc Reservations about Access to SS5 site
The Society and the Lymington and Pennington Town Council, both objected to the road layout at the stage of the outline planning application nearly two years ago. Once this outline permission was given, the application for the actual development itself, which thankfully includes 50% affordable homes, was relatively uncontroversial, and was approved earlier this year. This is described in more detail later in the newsletter.
 
SS6 Strategic Site near the Hospice.
The only other major developments still undecided is the very controversial development proposed between Lower Pennington Lane and Ridgeway Lane adjacent to the hospital. This site, designated SS6 in the Local Plan has attracted objections from both the Society and PALLS (The Pennington and Lymington Lanes Association), and the Town Council. Despite the applicant submitting revised plans recently, the Society remains opposed to this application on many grounds and again more details on SS6 can be found later in this newsletter.

Hugely Successful Social programme
A notable success for the Society over the last year has been the amazing support for the events of the social programme which has seen record attendances for most events. Some of the concerns we expressed last year about the financial viability of holding events have not been borne out, and the Society is really grateful for the fantastic support that members have given to the social programme.

Society continue to attract new members.
The last year has continued to see new members joining the Society which is very gratifying, and we hope that we are meeting expectations for both new members and existing members.
 
Keep in touch.
Don’t forget we are always open to suggestions for improvements to the social programme, any important issues that we should consider, or the way that Society is run, so don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.

Kind regards
Don Mackenzie
Chair of the Lymington Society.
donald@donald-mackenzie.co.uk
07860 106120

The Lymington Society Autum Update for members has been sent by email to all members and the contents of the update can be viewed by clicking here. View this email in your browser.

Contents in this update included the following stories:

Message from Don Mackenzie, Society Chair.

Dear Members,

Welcome
Welcome to our Autumn Email Update to Members
Social Programme Sent Out.
I do hope you’ve already received your detailed Social Programme for the Autumn 2023 to Summer 2024 events. We’re particularly proud of this programme which has a wide range of events which we hope will be of interest to members.
Private View.
We start off with the Private View of the current St. Barbe Museum And Art Gallery Autumn exhibition, which I have to say is amazing and very much deserving of a visit. I do hope that you will consider coming along to this wonderful exhibition and support both the Society and St Barbe Museum.
Police Station Battle Lost.
I’m sure you will share with me, the disappointment over the police station site finally getting approval for 32 more unwanted retirement flats. It really is a scandal that we have such a poor Local Plan that the Council are unable to stop these applications going to appeal and finally getting permission from the Planning Inspectors. Please read our detailed reports on this later in the e-mail.
Successful Social Programme 22- 23
Last year we had a very successful social programme despite some unfortunate rearrangements due to speakers not being available. However, we had over 70 people attend the excellent joint presentation with the Friends Of Sir Harry, on the Battle of Copenhagen, one of Nelson’s famous victories. The Summer Garden Party courtesy of Mark And Lesley Ann Pidsley was another highlight with over 70 people attending in their gorgeous garden off Captains Row in bright sunshine.
LymSoc Thoughts on Major Housings Schemes
Later in this e-mail you will see our thoughts on the two major developments proposed for the outskirts of Lymington, the so-called SS6 site off Lower Pennington Lane and the SS5 site on the land South of Milford Rd. Whilst the Society is generally in favour of the proposals for the site off Milford Rd subject to minor queries, we are very much opposed to the development near the Hospice off  Lower Pennington Lane, which is very much larger than it should be, and which threatens the rural character of that area of Lymington.
Chair Grateful to Committee for Support
I’m grateful of course to my supportive committee for their diligence in attending our monthly meetings and helping with a myriad of other tasks behind the scenes.
New Committee Members Welcome.
We always welcome new committee members with an interest in preserving the character of the town and especially those who may be able to bring skills in planning, architecture or IT. Please do contact me if you would like to inquire about joining the committee or supporting us behind the scenes. 07860 106120
Don Mackenzie
Chairman

A Friends of Sir Harry Presentation

A Walking Tour of Buckler’s Hard shipbuilding yard at Buckler’s Hard and visit the Maritime Museum with Mary Montagu-Scott.

Venue – Buckler’s Hard Shipyard. Date – Thursday The 29th of June at 5.00 PM

Tickets to include refreshments: Members of the Friends £7.00 * Guest Ticket £8.00 *

Part of the ticket price will be donated to the research project to survey the wreck of Nelson’s favourite ship HMS Agamemnon built at Bucklers Hard which was discovered off the coast of Uruguay in 1993.

* Due to the additional fee charged by the EventBrite website the fee charged will be £8.30 for the Members Ticket and £9.38 for the Guest Ticket.

To buy a ticket, please click on this link.

The Friends of Sir Harry, dedicated to the life and times of Sir Harry (Burrard) Neale and the Burrard family of Walhampton, is pleased to announce a walking tour conducted by Mary Montagu-Scott who will describe the history of shipbuilding at Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River”.

This tour will help illuminate the history of the famous Buckler’s Hard shipbuilding yard in the historic village of Buckler’s Hard where so many of the famous ships of the early British Navy were built over a 200 year period.

Mary, who is the Director of the Maritime Museum at Bucklers Hard, will take us around the shipyard and describe how and why the Beaulieu River yard came to be the largest private shipyard building ships for the Royal Navy in the Solent area as well as merchant ships and yachts. Over 50 large ships were built there from 1698 – 1815 including many famous ones such as Agamemnon, Nelson’s favourite ship, Euryalus and Swiftsure.

Please support the Friends and the Lymington Society by attending this event which promises to be a fascinating glimpse into this unique place which has played such an important part in the history of Britain, and which is just on our doorsteps.

As members will be aware following our recent Spring Email Update, the date of the Annual Summer Garden Party has been moved to Friday the 26th of May, starting at 6.00 pm

This has been done to avoid a clash with the very popular Solent Music Festival which this year has been moved to early June instead of September.

The party will still be taking place courtesy of Lesley-Ann and Mark Pidsley in the beautiful garden of Bays in Captains Row at the bottom of the High Street. Full signage will be provided on the day.

The allocation of 60 tickets was available on EventBrite and has now been sold out.

Bays, Captains Row, Lymington SO41 9RR

The Lymington Society also announces a major Community Engagement Survey initiative to assist the Society in coming Neighbourhood Plan consultations.

See the Lymington Society “Neighbourhood Plan” website pages here

As Lymington Society members and the wider community, will have seen in the press, the Lymington and Pennington Town Council are finally, after a long delay, now working to produce a Draft Neighbourhood Plan. See the Council Site here.

This process started in 2016 and the Society was involved in one of the original Working Parties on Heritage and Design which last met in 2017, following which the Neighbourhood Plan process has been largely stalled until more recently.

In order to assist the Lymington Society in responding to the forthcoming Neighbourhood Plan consultations that the Council will be undertaking, the Society has decided to launch a new Neighbourhood Plan information section on its website to help its members and the wider community, fully understand what a Neighbourhood Plan is, and how it will benefit the town.

As part of this new Neighbourhood Plan information initiative, the Society is also launching a new Community Engagement Survey using an online service and this can be accessed below. The main reason for launching this Community Engagement Initiative is to try and assist the Society in understanding the views and priorities of its members and to ensure that as the acknowledged local Amenity Society in the town, we also understand the priorities of the wider community.

Click here to take survey – Lymington Society Community Engagement Survey

If you would prefer then a simple responce form can be accessed at Have your Say on the Society’s Neighbourhood Plan website pages. Click here for that form

The Neighbourhood Plan process is an important one for the Town, which could bring major benefits in both planning terms and financially for the town.

The Society urges its members and members of the community to take part in this survey to help the Society play its part in making this process a success.

The illustrated talk taking place at the Lymington Centre on the 7th of November has been cancelled due to the ill health of the speakers.

However we are pleased to announce that LymSoc Members can instead attend a talk organised by our sister organisation, the Friends of Sir Harry, on the 1th of November at the Lymington Centre at 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm entitled “To Copenhagen with Nelson”.

A Friends of Sir Harry Presentation

Please join us for a fascinating talk by Phillip St Lawrence, a dynamic and acclaimed speaker, at the McLellan Hall Lymington Community Centre Tuesday on the 15th of November 6.30 pm for 7.00 pm

It is early spring 1801 and Great Britain is intent upon neutralising Scandinavian and Russian support for Napoleon. Copenhagen is well defended and the attack Nelson plans is audacious, the assault both riveting and tense. When Admiral Parker signals him to withdraw Nelson makes perhaps the most famous act of insubordination in history, determined to secure the victory! ‘Simply captivating!’

Philip St Lawrence is a professional speaker who specializes in ‘bringing history alive’ through his various Talks. Following his appearance at the Chalke Valley History Festival in 2021, Philip’s captivating performances are now in high demand consistently receiving excellent reviews. His recent appearances aboard the Queen Elizabeth, as at other venues, have won numerous plaudits! (‘Audiences were enthralled by his delivery and subject matter’…. Cunard voyage report)

Cost of LymSoc Members Ticket to include Refreshments. £5.00

Tickets are on the door or from Eventbrite. Click Here for Tickets

The Society has been concerned for some time about the loss of many fine buildings in the town which have been demolished for redevelopments, due to the fact that they have no legal protection by being listed as Grade l and Grade ll. An example of this type of building would be the Hillcroft Clinic at the end of New Street which was demolished to create the current development of apartments.

The inclusion of a building on a Local List does not guarantee that the building will be preserved but is an indication of the importance of the building to the community and signifies to everyone that any development involving these building needs careful scrutiny with the aim that they should be retained if at all possible.

In an attempt to save such buildings or groups of buildings, the Society has been in discussions with the Chief Planning Officer for the NFDC, Claire Upton-Brown, about the possibility of creating a “Local List” of important local buildings which have historical heritage value, but which are not covered under the current Grade l and Grade ll listing system.

Many other local authority areas, including the National Park locally, maintain what is known as a “Local List” and on their website the NFNPA list the sort of criteria which can be used to assess suitable buildings. NFNPA Local List criteria. English Heritage describes these lists as “Local Heritage Lists” and they provide an Advice Note to help groups and councils to set up such a list.

The Society has now come to an agreement with the NFDC for the creation of a “Local List” for Lymington and has asked us to start collecting suggestions for buildings or monuments o other features of the town that would warrant being regarded as what is called a “non-designated heritage asset” .

We are therefore asking that members nominate buildings or monuments or other features of the town. As members will be aware many buildings in Lymington are already listed so please don’t nominate buildings that are already listed. You can check the list of Listed Buildings here before nominating a building. Listed Buildings In Lymington and Pennington

Please nominate your building/monument by emailing details here. LymLocalList@gmail.com If you could include a brief description of your nomination and if you could send some photos that would be helpful.

The Lymington Society has today emailed all its members the Autumn 2022 Update on its activities and plans for the future, as well as releasing details of its full Social Programme for the 2022 – 2023 season.

Full details can be seen here LymSoc Autumn 2022 Update and Social Programme

The Update includes a message from new Chair of the Society Don Mackenzie, and updates on Redrow/Lymington Shores, the Churchill Police Station Appeal and many other interesting topics of current concern to members and the community.

A full Social Programme starting with a Private View at St Barbe Museum on the 5th of October 2022 running through to the Summer Garden Party on June the 2nd 2023 has also been announced.

Members are invited to contact the Society if they have any comments to make on the issues raised in the Autumn Update

A PDF copy of the email is available here. Autumn 2022 Update