Liberal Democrat Eric Dunlop was re-elected to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council with more than half the votes cast on Thursday 3rd May.

Eric said “I want to thank the townsfolk of Whitchurch for their continuing support.  I will serve the town to the best of my ability in these difficult times when there is very little money about and the number of Council employees is being drastically reduced.  I represent all the people of Whitchurch however they voted.”

The full result was:
 791 Eric Dunlop
 526 Conservative 
 164 Labour

Comparing the result with the previous Borough Council election in 2010, there was very little change in the Conservative share of the vote but there was a swing of 8% from Liberal Democrat to Labour, who didn’t have a candidate in 2010.

Next year’s election will be for a Hampshire County Councillor.

“Last Ditch” challenge fails to keep Daniel Park intact

An attempt by Whitchurch Councillors Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts to get the boundaries of the land to be dedicated as the Queen Elizabeth Field decided by all 60 Members of Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council failed on Wednesday.

Keith Watts said “local people asked us to go on fighting into the ‘last ditch’ so we asked our Lib Dem colleagues to call-in the Cabinet decision for scrutiny.  With their support and a contribution from the public seats by long term friend of the park Kathy Edwards we argued that the Council was bound, in honour if not in law, to dedicate the site, as it was defined at the time of the public ballot, to be reserved for ever for recreational use”.

Keith Watts told the Committee that an article about the QEII Fields ballot in the Council’s magazine Basingstoke & Deane Today clearly stated that “this gives communities an opportunity to vote for an outdoor space in their area to be permanently protected as a tribute to the Diamond Jubilee”. This article included a link to the qe2fields.com website which says that the Local Authority will be committed to executing a Deed of Dedication “on an agreed number of sites which will be selected through the public vote”.

A report from an independent lawyer said that “the Council was clearly doing things in reverse” and “the Council intended to consult then decide to offer any particular site”.  Keith Watts said that this was not what the public and elected Councillors had been told.  He proposed that the Full Council should be asked to resolve the issue of how much land should be dedicated as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.  Only the three Liberal Democrats present supported this, Conservative and Labour members combined to support the Council Cabinet’s decision to reserve a strip 20 metres wide for a possible future road serving 200 houses.

Keith Watts writes:
As Borough Councillor and FOCUS Editor I want to apologise to those residents concerned about the proposal for development of land south of Testbourne School for not informing them of it directly.  We presented it at the Annual Town Assembly so many residents heard about it from someone else who was there instead of from the Liberal Democrat Councillors.  I am not going to make excuses for this lapse, I can only say that I am sorry.

The Basingstoke & Deane draft Core Strategy provides for new housebuilding at a rate of 25 new homes each year.  The local community is to be consulted about siting of 200 new homes in the eight years after 2019.

Two options are apparent at present.

One option is for the Council’s land behind The Knowlings to be developed with road access through Micheldever Road.

The second is for a new access to be made from Winchester Road giving an opportunity for open space behind the existing houses, several housing sites farther east and 9 acres of playing fields behind Testbourne School.

There might be other options.  The Town Council will lead public consultation.

PLANNING NEW HOMES
Liberal Democrats support a plan for Whitchurch to have enough new homes for local people but no more.  Of course, some people will leave and some people will come here but the town should not grow faster than the natural increase in population.

The first phase will provide 37 affordable homes to rent or part buy, part rent including family houses, bungalows and flats.  There will also be 54 homes for sale at market prices.

INFRASTRUCTURE
House builders will be made to pay for improvements to roads, schools, playgrounds and all other facilities to serve a growing population.

LEISURE FACILITIES
We must protect all our recreation land and plan for more land to be made available for leisure uses such as youth football. 

With Testbourne Community School, the Gill Nethercott Centre and the Parish Hall, Whitchurch is well-off for community buildings but Borough Council support is needed for a dedicated youth centre in the town.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
By national standards, Whitchurch has very little crime.  We are very fortunate in having community police teams who work together along B3400 and up to the Newbury border. 

With many young people on our streets on weekend evenings, police need the support of the Council’s patrol officers, but they stay mainly in Basingstoke following staff cuts in the past two years.

CAR PARKING
In recent years, progress has been made in reducing unsafe and inconsiderate parking in Whitchurch.  Further improvements agreed by councillors and the police last June have yet to be put in place, a result of the Conservative Council’s so-called “fit for purpose reviews”

The problem of parking by rail users can only be solved by providing a new car park north of the station.  Lib Dem Councillors continue to press for action to provide one.

HERITAGE & LANDSCAPE
Whitchurch Ward includes four Conservation Areas, two Sites of Special Scientific Interest and part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Liberal Democrat Councillors guard these treasures jealously but there is no public money to look after them. 

For our buildings to be kept standing up they need to be habitable and usable; for our landscape to remain green there have to be enterprises that depend for their success on keeping it green.  Planning policies must not discourage these uses.

COUNCIL TAX
Both Borough and County Councils have been enabled to freeze Council Tax by a subsidy from the coalition government.

REFUSE SERVICES
The new contract for waste collection seems to be working well although there are still lapses into bad practice such as tipping one household’s rubbish into another’s bin.  Councillors need to be given the date and place of incidents if they are going to be stopped. No party on the Council is in favour of stopping weekly collections.

OTHER SERVICES
Conservative leaders at Basingstoke are trying to back out of providing services that the Council is not forced by law to offer.  The latest example is public conveniences, they want to close them and ask pubs and shops to open theirs up for general public use.  Whitchurch Councillors are opposing this reduction in basic services to the public.

HEALTH SERVICES
The Borough Council has no responsibility for health services but it is represented on an influential new Health and Wellbeing Board.  Liberal Democrats  have led cross-party efforts to ensure the future of Andover hospital now that the local hospital trusts have merged.

The authorities have to be continually reminded that Whitchurch is not a part of Basingstoke.

INCOMPETENCE
A High Court Judge has ruled that Basingstoke & Deane Council’s decision to exclude land west of Basingstoke from consideration for house building was “unlawful” and “irrational”.  Liberal Democrats have been telling them for years that it was irrational.  Now the whole plan for the next fifteen years is in turmoil.  Work to protect Whitchurch is needed.

TRUST AND HONOUR
Daniel Park in Whitchurch won the national ballot to be protected for recreation for ever as a Queen Elizabeth II Field to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee.

It turns out that no-one on the Council had signed the agreement to honour the rules of the QEII ballot before people voted’ so the Conservatives have decided to cut a “strip” of land 20 metres wide and 150 metres long out of the field  before it is dedicated.

The Conservatives in charge at Basingstoke have brought shame on the Borough twice in a few months.  Their incompetence has been condemned by a judge and their breach of trust over the QEII Field has been lampooned in Private Eye.  Only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted to look after Whitchurch.

Keep the LOCAL team together – put your cross on the top line to vote for Eric DUNLOP

A High Court judge has ruled that Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council acted unlawfully when it decided that land at Manydown, west of Basingstoke, was not available for housing development in the next fifteen years.  He has ordered the Council to review this decision before completing its Core Strategy which says where house should be built between 2012 and 2027.  The delay could allow owners of unsuitable sites to get permission for building while there is no Local Plan for the district.

The Manydown Company, who own the freehold of nearly 2,000 acres of land leased to the Council, are entitled to half the proceeds of future development.  The Company claimed that it was unlawful for the Council to exclude the Manydown land from consideration in the Core Strategy for the District 2012 to 2027.  Mr Justice Lindblom agreed and today he quashed decisions made by the Council last December.  He ordered the Council to review its position on the promotion of Manydown land for housing and whether to identify all or part of the Manydown land for development in the core strategy.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Keith Watts, who is a member of the Council’s Planning & Infrastructure Committee, says “I am not surprised at the Court’s decision, the line taken by the controlling Conservative Group on the council has always seemed to be irrational, now a Judge has said exactly that.  I will now press for land on the edges of Basingstoke and Oakley to be allocated in the core strategy for housing development. 

“The snag is that this will cause a further delay in getting an agreed local plan for Basingstoke & Deane, which will give owners of other sites across the Borough an opportunity apply for permission to build on unsuitable sites on the grounds that the Council hasn’t allocated a sufficient supply of land for housing.  The Conservatives’ incompetence could cost us dearly.”

See “Council’s homes policy sheer folly” below.

Liberal Democrat Eric Dunlop will defend his seat on Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council in the election on Thursday 3rd May. 

In the five years that Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts have represented Whitchurch together they have fought off Conservative proposals for Basingstoke overspill houses to be dispersed to small communities like ours.  Unless the Tories let us down again we now have a good plan – enough homes for local people and no more.

Eric Dunlop’s priorities for the Borough Council are to:

1. Increase the number of affordable homes to rent locally
2. Obtain land for more and better sports fields in Whitchurch
3. Upgrade all facilities and services for a growing population

NEW HOMES.  In each of the 15 years ending March 2010 an average of 25 homes were built in Whitchurch.  Some Housing Association homes were built in Bradbury Close, Hillside & Park View but other developments provided no affordable homes.  Very few houses have been built since; local people who want to buy a home have to move away.

SPORTS FIELDS.   Apart from the Cricket Club, the only sports fields in Whitchurch are those at Testbourne Community School.  They are on sloping ground and too small for all local needs, e.g. youth football.  More and better fields can only be provided if extra land is acquired through the local planning process for school and community sports.

LOCAL SERVICES.   The population of Whitchurch is growing whether we plan or not; the plan is to allow people to be adequately housed locally.  Liberal Democrat Councillors will ensure that housing developers are required to contribute to the costs of expanding schools, medical facilities, play spaces, etc., to meet the needs of all residents.

Keith Watts writes:
I was re-elected two years ago so I have another two years before my seat is up again for election.  I hope that you will all vote to keep the local team working together by voting for Eric Dunlop on Thursday 3rd May. 

Best wishes, Keith

KEEP THE LOCAL TEAM TOGETHER

Put your cross ON THE TOP LINE to vote for ERIC DUNLOP

Eric Dunlop is

• A local Councillor who knows Whitchurch and understands local issues
• An experienced Councillor who keeps you informed and asks for your views through regular Focus newsletters
• An effective Councillor who speaks up  strongly for all local people.

Eric’s priorities for the Borough Council are:
1 Increase the number of affordable homes to rent
2 Obtain land for better sports fields in Whitchurch
3 Upgrade all facilities for a growing population

Eric is a Governor of Testbourne School and Chairman of its Premises and Community Management Committees.  He is also a Trustee of both the Millennium Meadow and of the Rising Fives playschool.

Eric Dunlop was elected to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council in 2007.  He had previously been a Borough Councillor from 1986 to 1994.

Eric also served on the Town Council and was Mayor of Whitchurch 1985 to 1987.

Land for new sports fields

As a Governor of Testbourne School, Eric Dunlop has been talking for some time to the owner of land behind the school about releasing a site for extra sports fields.

These would be available outside school hours for local sports clubs, including youth football.

Meanwhile, Keith Watts has been deeply involved in the medium-term planning process. Last year a site south of Testbourne School with its own access directly from Winchester Road was accepted as suitable for possible housing development.

This site could provide 9 acres for sports fields and the first part of an eventual relief road linking the far end of Micheldever Road directly to Winchester Road.

As this website reported before, sites have to be found for 200 houses to be built at a rate of 25 each year from 2019.  Whitchurch people, led by the Town Council, will be involved in deciding where those houses will be.

The local team working together

Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts have worked together as Borough Councillors for Whitchurch for five years.

At Borough level, Keith has focused on planning and transport issues, Eric has been involved in licensing and the audit and governance of the Council’s own activities.

Here, in Whitchurch and Hurstbourne Priors, the two Liberal Democrats have worked as a team to respond to people’s individual issues and problems.

People having problems with planning applications;  people needing support with housing applications; people with concerns about the environment; people with all manner of enquiries come to one of the Councillors and get a response from whichever member of the team is best placed to help them.

Keith was re-elected two years ago and has another two years to serve.  Eric is up for election now. 

KEEP THE LOCAL TEAM. 
Vote for Eric Dunlop on Thursday 3rd May.

The Chief Executive of Basingstoke & Deane Council has allowed the decision of the Council’s Cabinet on the QE II Field to be called-in for scrutiny.

The Cabinet decided that a 20-metre-wide strip of land should be left out of the dedication for possible future use as a road serving 200 houses.  Barry Thomas of Alliston Way presented a petition to the Cabinet on behalf of residents in the road.

The Chief Executive writes “when I referred to the webcast of the Cabinet meeting, I noted that the lead Petitioner, Mr Thomas said ‘our properties will be blighted in perpetuity if this land is retained’.  I do not consider that this specific potential consequence had been considered by the OSCOM.”

This means that Whitchurch Councillors Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts will have a chance to fight this decision in the ‘last ditch’ and attempt to get it referred to the Full Council of 60 elected members.

The Basingstoke & Deane Council Cabinet of six Conservative Councillors has over-ruled the recommendation of a Committee that the whole site known as Daniel Park should be dedicated for ever as recreation land in commemoration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. 

Last October, Whitchurch people voted in a national ballot for this land to be a Queen Elizabeth II Field.  After the vote, Council officials recommended that a 20 metre wide strip of the land should be retained for a possible road to be built serving 200 new houses on the site behind The Knowlings.  A Committee of elected Councillors disagreed, recommending that the whole site should be dedicated as a QE II Field. 

On 20^th March officials repeated to the Council’s all-Conservative Cabinet their recommendation that a strip of land be excluded from the dedication.  Several Whitchurch residents and two Liberal Democrat Councillors attended to say that the Queen Elizabeth Field should be as it was defined at the time of the ballot.  

Basingstoke Liberal Democrat Stuart Parker said “I am disappointed to see that the recommendation of the Committee is being ignored, not reported.  How can Cabinet Members give fair consideration to the recommendation?”.  A resident of Alliston Way presented a petition asking the Council not to reserve land for a new road, adding “reservation of the land will blight our community, deterring newcomers from moving here”.   Their plea was not discussed.

There is nothing more that Whitchurch people can do.  The Cabinet’s decision is final unless it can be shown that some aspects of the case were not properly taken into account.  

But the fight goes on.  After reviewing the reports and the discussions at both meetings, three Basingstoke Liberal Democrats and one Labour Councillor have signed a request for the Decision of the Cabinet to be called-in for scrutiny before it is implemented.  Their two reasons are:

1. Neither the Committee Report nor the discussion covered the blight that will affect properties in Alliston Way once the Land Registry shows the Deed of Dedication with a strip reserved indefinitely for a road
2. The ballot went ahead without the Council having committed itself in writing to the terms and conditions of the QEII Fields Challenge 

This request will go to the Council’s Chief Executive, who has to decide if the request meets the criteria for call-in.

Keep in touch with this issue on this website.