THE Alton Society has added its voice to those urging East Hampshire planners to refrain from granting permission to development that will impact on Alton’s skyline.

Unable to speak at East Hampshire District Council’s (EHDC) extraordinary planning meeting on Tuesday, held to discuss the reserve matters application for the development of 243 residential properties on land east of Selborne Road, giving support instead to the Ashdell Residents’ Association which was the lone voice able to make the case for the objectors, the Alton Society believes that, should the decision be granted to allow for visible development on the top of the hill at Borovere Farm, future generations of Altonians will be asking what led the planners to make a decision which was clearly at odds with local planning policy and Alton’s neighbourhood plan.

Deferred at the meeting to allow councillors to take another look at the potential impact building along the northern boundary of the 22-acre hillside site will have, the Alton Society is urging them to do the right thing for Alton or face criticism in years to come.

In a statement on behalf of the Alton Society, Rod Eckles, chairman of the Society’s built environment group, said: “We are convinced these are the kind of comments that will be heard from future generations of Altonians when viewing the large-scale developments being imposed on our town, the plans for Borovere Farm (land east of Selborne Road) being the most vivid example. It will be very much like the opinions we now have of 1960s/70s architecture.”

He continued: “This dense mass of urban sprawl could not be more unsuited to its location – on a steep hill in open countryside, at the most important gateway into Alton. In an effort to cram in as many houses as possible the plan is simply to dump a series of parallel streets, with a few retaining walls thrown in to cope with the topography. Significantly (and alarmingly), the developers (Harvington Properties and Miller Homes) are obviously proud of this, admitting that they have used the equally packed housing estate on the former Coors Sports Ground in Anstey Road as their model for Borovere Farm. Even the emphasis on extra screening (though to be welcomed) seems to be an admission that the development is better hidden from view.”

Stressed Mr Eckles: “The potential damage to Alton’s skyline, in proposing to build right up to the top of the hill, is immense, both in its immediate impact and the precedent it sets for future developments.”

The Alton Society has expressed concern that local cllr Andrew Joy appeared to be “something of a lone voice at the meeting in protesting non-compliance with Alton’s Neighbourhood Plan – policies DE1 and DE2 in particular, which are designed specifically to protect the special nature of Alton’s landscape. Especially worrying was the absence from this meeting of Alton Town Council, which chose not to send anyone to help fight the town’s corner, given they are custodians of the very document (neighbourhood plan) that has been so blatantly side-stepped.”

Mr Eckles warned that last week’s decision to defer “could prove a shallow victory”, believing that pressure will be on the planners to bring the scheme back to committee with as few changes as possible when, what is actually needed, in the Society’s view, is “a fundamental rethink” of the plan and the relocation of dwellings away from the hill’s summit, which would not only help limit the damage to the skyline but could also address the impact on some neighbouring properties.

Added Mr Eckles: “The appearance of 19 new planning documents with less than 48 hours notice, the inadequate illustrations, and the inconsistencies in the officer’s report to committee, all added to this acute feeling of apathy and complacency.

Councillor Dean Phillips said: “Once more, Alton is being victimised.”