As we reported last year, Dandara have now taken over the reigns from Persimmon Homes as the latest housing developer to submit a planning application for the Campdown site at Crookhorn, between South Downs College and Portsmouth Golf Course.
The new application is simply a variation on the same theme, just two different sets of CAD programmes squeezing the maximum volume of bricks, tiles and asphalt into the available green space.
Confusingly, both planning applications are still live on the HBC Planning Services public access portal, and it appears that APP/19/01101, the Persimmon Homes application, is mistakenly receiving new public comments which were, almost certainly, intended for APP/23/00488, the current Dandara Homes planning application. Why is this happening? We have asked Planning Services (27/8) for clarification and await their response.
Most likely, it is because the only planning application which is returned by a planning portal search for ‘Campdown‘ is the older of the two. The only search string which appears to find the current planning application on the planning portal is ‘Land east of College Road‘. While the relationship between the two applications can be found using the related cases link on the portal, this is a level of detail that few members of the public should be expected to go to. Simply ensuring that the keyword ‘Campdown’ had been applied when the planning application was validated and loaded would have saved much confusion. This seems to be just another example of questionable process consistency regarding the validation of planning applications within HBC Planning Services.
For the avoidance of doubt, we believe that comments relating to the current Dandara planning application should be made through this link.
What, if anything, has changed?
There is little to choose between the original (Persimmon Homes) and new (Dandara) planning applications. The arguments raised against the Persimmon application still stand, arguments we discussed in detail here back in February 2020.
What has changed since then is, however, significant. The surrounding green spaces have, one by one, now disappeared through planning applications already passed.
- Bedhampton Forty Acres – The Barratt Homes developments at ‘Harbour Place’
- Bedhampton Lower Road – The Bargate Homes developments
- Hulbert Road – The housing developments east of the A3(M)
- The new Lidl – Beside the B&Q site
- Dunsbury Park – The eagerly-awaited new Solent Freeport warehousing developments
- Brockhampton West – The less eagerly-awaited Southern Water waste recycling plant
All of this planning has occurred in piecemeal fashion without any clear overarching programme plan for the traffic and transport infrastructure, let alone the education, medical services, police and emergency services. Instead, each application appears to be considered simply on its individual merits with no clear thought to the future.
Or, indeed, to the past. The Campdown site is more than simply the last remaining green space in the borough, it is also a site of significant archaeological value. At a time when maintaining green spaces for the well-being of residents reinforces the need to increase, rather than destroy, biodiversity, the loss of Campdown to ill-considered housing development is, as we observed three years ago, wrong on so many levels.
We’ll leave the last word to Historic England, who made a strong and considered case against the Persimmon planning application three years ago. Their current submission to HBC regarding the Dandara application summarises the heritage value of the site and is worth a read:
Historic England: Click here to read the full text
“Your authority should take these representations into account and seek amendments, safeguards or further information as set out in our advice. If, however, you propose to determine the application in its current form, please treat this as a letter of objection, inform us of the date of the committee and send us a copy of your report at the earliest opportunity.“
Havant Civic Society 