EAST Hampshire planners have thrown caution to the wind and gone against a highways officer recommendation by agreeing an application for changes to a driveway and vehicular access on the main B3004 at Kingsley. The proposal is for the formation of two access points onto Gold Hill and the provision of a hard- standing area to the front of a house at 1 Main Road, Kingsley. At last Thursday's (August 16) meeting of East Hampshire District Council's North Planning committee councillors heard that the property, which comprises two cottages knocked into one, on the south side of the main road, currently relies on parking in the lay-by on the road outside the house. At present there are two parking bays, one of which would be lost with the creation of the new access arrangement. Although not a normal planning consideration, principal planning officer, Chris Murray, said that the owners of the property had a severely disabled son and this arrangement could be seen to improve disabled access. It would also allow vehicles to enter and leave the site in a forward gear - at present they have to reverse off the site. Local councillor Maureen Comber said that on humanitarian grounds, and because Kingsley Parish Council had been successful in its application for a 30 mph limit through the village, local councillors supported this application. However, Hampshire County Council's highways officer did not. He had expressed concerns about visibility from the proposed access points, a lack of on-site manoeuvring space and the overall reduction in public and visitor parking in the lay- by. In an unprecedented move, committee chairman, cllr Patrick Burridge, said he felt that on this occasion it was worth overruling the officer. He believed the situation would be an improvement on the existing provision. In the event it was decided to grant permission but with an informative note to use the new access arrangement as a one-way system and to enter from the left and exit from the right, which was felt to be the safest means of exiting onto the B3004.
