AN outline application by Tanvale Holdings Ltd for the development of up to

17 acres of employment land for office, light industrial, general industrial and storage and distribution use, on land at Lynch Hill, Mill Lane, Alton, has received the ‘thumbs down’ from East Hampshire District Council’s planning committee

who felt it would have “an unacceptable, adverse impact on the landscape”.

It was a strong, if late night, for local councillors on Monday as they joined

forces to fight the proposal which advocated a single point access, submitted for

detailed approval, via a Tjunction off Montecchio Way, located between the

A31/Holybourne roundabout and the junction with Mill Lane.

Councillors heard that the new road would cut through Lynch Hill Hanger and

through the side of Lynch Hill itself, before connecting to the new junction, and

it presented the most cause for angst.

Speaking on behalf of the Alton Society and the Alton Ashdell Ward Residents’

Association, Giles Lock, pointed out in his address to council, that the local folk

he represented felt the proposed access off Montecchio Way would cause

“significant damage to the general vista on the approach to the town” and had

the “potential to create anaccident blackspot.”

He added: “This would be a massive civil engineering project on an unprecedented scale” the impact of which had not, he felt, been taken fully into account.

While not up for consideration as part of the outline application, Mr Lock also

stressed concerns that the tall industrial buildings proposed for the top of Lynch

Hill would breach the skyline and would be visible from within the South

Downs National Park, as well as from surrounding hills, and would be contrary

to local planning policy, which seeks to “retain Alton’s undeveloped hills” in a bid to preserve the scale and feel of the town.

While it was agreed that Alton needs greater employment opportunities through

development, this should not, insisted Mr Lock “come at any cost to the town.”

Located on the boundary with Alton and in his ward, councillor Ian Salisbury said

that Binsted Parish Council had no objection to the development of the land at

the southern end of the site but strongly objected to development of the higher

northern end, which falls outside the identified employment area and the settlement policy boundary.

Like Alton Town Council, Binsted Parish Council felt the proposed access onto Montecchio Way would have “a serious negative impact on the landscape character and appearance of one of the key gateways to the historic market town.”

While appreciating the difficulties involved in accessing the site from Waterbrook

Road, as originally proposed, or directly from the A31, both of which would be “financially unpalatable” to the developer, Mr Salisbury believed these difficulties were “not insurmountable”.

He stressed that “the quick fix solution” on the table did not accord with

planning policy in that the need to use this countryside area for access was “neither genuine nor proven.”

And he felt officers had underestimated the impact the development would

have on the local community.

“Those that live, work or run existing businesses in Alton will know that for

several hours a day queuing traffic makes accessing or leaving Alton via the A31 at Montecchio Way an absolute nightmare. This development will only

exacerbate the problem.”

Speaking on behalf of Alton Town Council, Peter Hicks said that if the access

were to be off Mill Lane the town council’s objection to the application would be

withdrawn but, according to the applicant’s agent, this would not be viable.

Peter Warren of Savills, Southampton, pointed out that the agency had worked

hard with East Hampshire planners and Hampshire Highways over the past 18

months to ensure the scheme, on land allocated in the Local Plan for employment use, was “viable and deliverable” and that access from Montecchio

Way was the only way to achieve this (the applicant did not own land needed to

gain access to the site from Waterbrook Road).

Head of planning Simon Jenkins cautioned councillors that, because Hampshire

Highways had given the OK to the access from Montecchio Way, to turn the application down on that basis would make it very hard to defend at appeal.

But the majority of councillors on the committee were not prepared to accept

the argument. Anthony Williams (Headley) referred to the Montecchio Way access

as “just a joke” - a sentiment echoed by councillor Dean Phillips (Alton Eastbrooke) who felt it was one which could “only result in an accident.”

Andrew Joy (Alton Ashdell) argued that while the proposed junction might be feasible in engineering terms, it was too close to the A31 and would not give vehicles coming off the roundabout enough time to reduce speed, plus it would

require extensive clearance of vegetation.

He suggested, instead, basing refusal on the fact the development would create

“a visible scar” on the landscape, urbanising the hillside and setting “an ugly

precedent”.

David Orme (Alton Wootey) agreed that “viability of the development was too high a price to pay for breaching the skyline.”

In the event, the application was refused based onthe impact of the proposed

development on the landscape, with an informative note that councillors would

prefer to see access from Waterbrook Road rather than Montecchio Way.