DEVELOPERS may be asked to pay compensation as council officers look to iron out a raft of planning problems at a Petersfield housing estate. Taylor Woodrow Developments Ltd was given planning permission four years ago to build 270 homes on the Ramshill estate. But since then it has been claimed that they have failed to meet a number of planning conditions – notably the provision of an agreed play area, landscaping and work on an approved footpath. However, at a meeting of East Hampshire District Council's south planning committee in April, there were moves to draw a line under the long-running saga by ensuring that the planning conditions were carried out. Much of the problem had centred on the provision of a kickabout area for children on the estate next to Kingsfernsden Lane. As long ago as February 2005, the then town mayor, Brian Dutton, first alerted district councillors to the fact that what they thought was a flat kickabout area on the new Ramshill estate had in fact been turned into a giant basin-shaped mudbath which flooded. Since then, the council has been in negotiations with developers, their consultants and the Environment Agency to resolve the matter. And in a report presented to councillors at the south planning committee last month, it was stated that when the developers original plans to deal with surface water proved impossible they came up with an alternative solution. This involved putting a 'balancing pond' under the approved kickabout area. At the same meeting, councillors gave EHDC's head of planning authority to agree with the developer a payment for the loss of this space, amended landscaping proposals and a footpath link with high-level lighting. He was also given clearance to commission a second Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents report to ensure that safety standards were met on the kickabout area. The matter will now come back to councillors so they can give a final seal of approval. l Even though a resolution was made at last month's meeting, developers and the district council's planning department did not escape criticism from council chairman Brian Dutton. In a pre-prepared speech, Mr Dutton said he and fellow members of south planning had been "treated like mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed on crap". He told colleagues: "Until two years ago we were unaware of what was happening behind high fences, nor had the planners brought to our attention that there was a major change in what was termed 'the field' from a kickabout area into a 'balancing pond', thus depriving the young people of the estate the opportunity to hone their skills of soccer or whatever else they chose to play on that area. "The planners knew, and had known for some time, what was happening. In fact, and I was told at a meeting, the plans had lain in the drawer of one of the departed – possibly for two years. "This change in the status of the area should have been brought to councillors' attention as it was a major change in the planning application to which approval that had been given. "Mistakes have been made and they must be corrected, but the public must see that we are trying to correct them. Anything else would be seen as a cover up."
