Update: 1 February, 2024 On 23 January 2024, after almost a year's delay, the Valuation Office Agency published a valuation for the DPO1 site, backdated to 1 April 2023 with no interest payable. The reason for the delay is not available. Perhaps rather more to the point, what is Havant Borough Council doing about it? While we're … Continue reading How is Amazon getting away without paying business rates?
Category: Planning Services
Campdown confusion. Competition between developers reinforces risks to Havant borough’s health and heritage
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 … Continue reading Campdown confusion. Competition between developers reinforces risks to Havant borough’s health and heritage
Barratt Homes – Farm access hogwash
Regular readers will know that Havant Civic Society takes a close interest in documents submitted with planning applications, particularly when they are written by 'transport consultants'. Planning application APP/23/00584 is currently exercising the residents of Denvilles since it appears little more than a cynical initiative by the housing developer to turn HBC's lack of attention … Continue reading Barratt Homes – Farm access hogwash
Amazon. So who got the best deal here?
We've been wondering why 32 New Lane, perhaps more aptly named 'Little Luxembourg', has yet to appear on Havant Borough Council's published record of business rates. A chart of the income received by Havant Borough Council from the 32 New Lane site over the past four years might cause one or two raised eyebrows. During … Continue reading Amazon. So who got the best deal here?
The Portsmouth Water ‘New HQ’ planning application
It's back on the table - the Portsmouth Water 'New HQ' planning application proposed for Solent Road. Background - The original planning applicationThe changes published on 6 July 2023To comment on the amended planning application The wider picture Background - The original planning application On 18 May 2021, Chancerygate (Erdington) Limited, submitted a planning application … Continue reading The Portsmouth Water ‘New HQ’ planning application
Regeneration – Meridian Centre reimagined for 2028
As we showed back in April, the council are continuing to invest in the services of Fabrik, despite the failure of the two Levelling Up Fund bids totalling over £30M on which the two organisations collaborated. However, taking a positive view, times have moved on since April and HBC's new executive team have assembled a … Continue reading Regeneration – Meridian Centre reimagined for 2028
HBC Regeneration gets a professional reboot and a long-overdue reality check
The presentation by HBC's Wayne Layton to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 19 June was a significant departure from the glossy, content-free and frankly out-of-touch presentations we've seen from his predecessors over the past five years. Mr. Layton is the recently appointed Executive Head of Corporate Finance who in addition holds the post of … Continue reading HBC Regeneration gets a professional reboot and a long-overdue reality check
Amazon – The unanswered questions
When a ‘last mile delivery centre’ was first proposed for Pfizer’s former site in New Lane in January 2021, the marketing flyer from the developer gave few hints of the extent to which that description was being stretched. The location’s constrained access to the UK strategic road network, via the town centre and nearby residential … Continue reading Amazon – The unanswered questions
South Street – Twittens Way development plans
An interesting new development project has been loaded to the HBC planning system for the land formerly associated with Pearce Motors and a number of other small local South Street businesses. If you can't quite place the site, the animation below might help: The planning application is for the part demolition and part redevelopment of … Continue reading South Street – Twittens Way development plans
Amazon – Kirklees 1, Havant 0
Fourteen months ago when we were reflecting on the planning committee's ill-judged decision on the second Amazon planning application, one of the local authorities that we used as a reference source was Kirklees Council. How refreshing it was, therefore, to read in Saturday’s Times that a small local Yorkshire village pressure group had succeeded in … Continue reading Amazon – Kirklees 1, Havant 0