Potential property development in Hatton Station


We are a young family who have lived in Hatton Station for 12 years. We proactively chose to live here in order to enjoy the rural lifestyle and closeness to green fields and wildlife that comes from a living in a small hamlet such as this.

You have kindly made us aware of 2 potential developments within our community:

A: Triangle of land off Station Road adjacent to the M40

We understand this land to be green belt which was planted as an attractive meadow until clearing took place recently. Whilst it may enjoy access from 2 separate roads (something not enjoyed by site B) it is extremely close to the motorway and without significant noise reduction measures would be wholly unsuitable for residential development.

B: Land to the East of Oakdene Crescent

Our garden backs onto this meadow. This is currently a meadow containing a plum orchard and is a haven for rare wildlife and a natural play area for local children who also have the option of visiting Hatton Country World which is located a short walk of 2 fields away adjacently.

Alongside other members of this community, we will object strongly to an application to put housing on this meadow on the following grounds:

1. Planning Policy

* Such applications have been declined twice in the past and there is no compelling rationale to revisit granting permission today.

* This is green belt land and therefore subject to stringent planning criteria.

* No evidence of need exists in this small isolated hamlet.


2. Wildlife & Ecology


* There are rare bats nesting in the field. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to:
o recklessly kill or injure any bat
o disturb a bat at roost
o damage a roost site or obstruct the entrance

* There are large number of slow worms and newts in the field and we frequently have them in our fish pond. Some of these we believe to be rare great crested newts.

* Ash trees in the UK are suffering from Ash die back, which is expected to infect most of our 90 million trees in the next 10 years (The Guardian). There are a large number of very young ash trees in the field and these should be protected to ensure the Ash has the greatest possible number of young trees post die-back.

* This is without mentioning the very wide range of birds, butterflies and other insects, hedgehogs, fieldmice and other species of wildlife that live or feed in the meadow (we can provide you with our 'spotting list' if required).


3. Building on this meadow - site considerations


* Traffic flow and access to the Oakdene Crescent/Antrobus Close area is already dangerously over stretched, as follows:
o There are insufficient off-road parking spaces, and cars frequently park on both sides of the road leaving only minimal passing space for the smallest of cars.
o There was recently a head on collision at the junction of Oakdene and Station Road and we have suffered frequent 'near misses' due to the poor visibility and restricted size of the road at this junction.
o Commercial vehicles delivering heating oil, regular rubbish and recycling collections often find the area congested. Development would prejudice the ability to meet council's access and on-site turning standards - also for emergency vehicles (fire engines & ambulances).
o Commuters using the adjacent station frequently park their cars in Oakdene, Ash Close and Antrobus Close rather than using the station car park. Residents have regularly had to call the police regarding inconsiderate parking that has caused obstruction.
* Existing public sewers are already subject to capacity issues.
* There are existing drainage problems associated with recent development of social housing in Oakdene Crescent. The sewers for these houses become blocked approximately once every 2 months, resulting in a sewerage company having to pump them out with all of the associated disruption to traffic and unpleasant smells permeating properties.
* The field is believed to have been an ammunition dump in a previous life and there are residents who still recall the discovery of unexploded ordinance. Disturbance to the ground could pose a threat to health of occupants through previous contamination.
* All of the properties backing onto this meadow would suffer a substantial loss of privacy, becoming overlooked across the entire length of garden and back of houses.
* Hatton Station is connected to the Claverdon telephone exchange. There are currently no plans to upgrade this exchange, yet existing residents suffer very poor connection speeds which prejudice both local small businesses and ruin residents' enjoyment of TV and internet services. Some 80% of people in a recent BBC survey said internet access is a fundamental right (March 2010); this is being studied by the UK government and is already enshrined in law in Finland and Estonia.

4. Business disruption


There would be significant disruption to the operation of local businesses if construction were to take place in Hatton Station due to noise and traffic, and suitable compensation would be sought.

5. Hatton Station Community needs


Local surveys are purported to have identified various community needs over preceding years and there is no doubt Hatton Station would benefit from, amongst other things:

1. a dedicated shop,
2. community hall,
3. public house,
4. better public road transport links,
5. children's playing field,
6. dedicated paths to keep horses off the narrow lane access to Hatton Station

We contend that should any potential developments mentioned here go ahead, they would not increase the size of the Hatton Station community enough to warrant commercial investment in any of the above amenities. It is believed that potential developers have offered to put a small children's play area into their plans, but given the size of the plots and their obvious need to turn a commercial profit, any such area would be extremely small and of limited use to the small number but wide age range of children within Hatton Station. In any case, our children currently enjoy the benefits of natural fields, streams, gardens and local habitats for healthy play, which would be compromised by development of the meadow!

If the Parish Council is truly interested in improving facilities for the community's children, as has been stated, we suggest perhaps a community action, facilitated by the Parish Council, to establish a large play area including a field to accommodate (e.g.) ball games. This could be done in conjunction with Hatton Estate, potentially by donation of a small piece of land.








6. Summary


In summary, we have seen no evidence of need for additional housing in Hatton Station. It can be summised that this is simply an opportunity for a developer to once again seek permission to build on precious greenbelt land that has been declined already on 2 previous occasions.

We appreciate the efforts of the Parish Council to keep residents informed of local plans and would ask that we are kept closely in the loop regarding any meetings, updates or further developments, communicated by all available media (our contact details attached).