Delay over decision on plans for new homes in Horndean as extra time to consider them is called for

The bid for land to the north of 233 Catherington Lane, Catherington has been delayed because planning committee members have not yet been able to see the site for themselves. The site to be developed at Parsonage Farm is 0.48 hectares where the six homes will sit behind a flint and brick wall, shielded from the road, with access, car ports, and parking within a courtyard with soft landscaping. The plans allow for public parking for three cars at the front of the flint, brick and stained timber boarded houses due to the layby being lost to the proposed development.

The planning committee at East Hampshire District Council heard plans from a council officer and agent Michael de Courcy, on behalf of developer 6a Vision Ltd, to build two detached and four semi-detached, three or four-bed homes.

Ward councillor Sara Schillemore (Con, Horndean Catherington) said the application had been live for a while but had been brought forward with ‘undue haste’. It had been rushed through with no 10-day notification period and couldn’t be viewed online until after May 2, with the case officer being away and a bank holiday.

She said she had tried to get a site visit before May 8’s meeting but was told by officers it was too late to arrange. She said the site is in the middle of a conservation area, the land backs onto the South Downs National Park and is near three listed buildings. The councillor is also concerned about nearby land with substantial underground electric cables and the development stopping access for maintenance.

She said: “While Catherington village residents are broadly in support of the development on this site, it was not the development they envisaged. It is not the right design for the plot with public parking to the front, a feature found only in the pub.”

Cllr Schillemore asked for the application to be deferred so that the committee and its members who are mostly all new can go and assess the problems for themselves. The application was deferred.