Matthew let me know that there are plans to build 8 flats for emergency housing with associated parking at the old Harcourt Way Tree Nursery. (The plans can be viewed at P14/V0710/FUL ).
The trees (seen to the left of this picture) have had time to get more firmly established , and seeded more trees, since the last time plans were put forward in 2009. That was for 14 flats for emergency housing. On that occasion there was a lot of opposition to the loss of what was considered a nature reserve alongside the Stert not far from Boxhill Walk.
Step by step are we becoming the Abingdon favela?
The provision of social housing on this site was one of the conditions for granting Cranbourne Holdings permission for the Old Gaol development: as Backstreeter says the original requirement was for 14. There is a real need for this sort of accommodation in Abingdon and providing it in a location with easy pedestrian access to all the basic facilities sounds sensible to me.
Keep packing them in, it’s not like the infrastructure can’t handle it is it?
I know there is a need for housing, but surely they can’t keep piling housing into any space available without thinking about the future, or the people currently living in the town.
Oh no.
This is not a case of packing them in. Of course it is a shame to have lost the nursery, several years ago now, but the nursery was going whatever, and so the site was identified as suitable for providing much needed emergency accomodation for local families who have been pushed off the housing ladder.
This need was identified many years ago through the council’s housing needs survey and has nothing to do with the Government’s projected figures for house building in general. The need has become even more pressing since redundancies coupled decreasing job opportunities and benefit cuts have contributed to a rise in homelessness.
Currently the council has once again had to start using Bed and Breakfast which, as well as being very unsuitable for the family is also highly expensive.
As Hester says this development is being provided as a condition for the permission of the Old Gaol
development and I cant believe its taking so long to get it underway
Trouble is Steveo
The people who make the decisions don’t live in the town.
why should they care about infrastructure etc etc.
As long as its not my backyard as he takes another few thousand from the trough of the taxpayer.
Perhaps this should wait until Cranbourne have provided all the facilities and access they promised when they weaseled-out of providing social housing on the Old Gaol site.
BTW, isn’t it about time the electorate knew the full and final structure of the Old Gaol deal?
That area has become a real haven for wildlife in recent years. Its a lovely area and would be a terrible shame to lose it.
I think there are some bigger questions that need answering apart from the obvious ones above.
1, who owns the land? presumably the Vale?
2,how much have they got for it? (presumably it was sold?) or was this parcel obtained by the developer as part of the purchase of the Gaol?
3,what happens with the property once its built? will it be “given” to Sovereign Vale as part of the OG deal or will the developer retain the lease and charge Sovereign a rent?
The public are entitled to know more of the details, we are after all, share holders of the district council.
it may be a little too “joined up thinking” for the Vale…but, seeing as a few articles down on this wonderful blog (and in todays Herald) there is news about the Vale palming off another of Abingdons assets in order to create some cash – to sell off Abbey House… how about this…
Maybe, leave *this* green stretch of now fairly established green space should be left as is….and Abbey House should be used for the emergency housing instead?
Of course, Cranbourne…thinking with their community spirited hat on…rather than the money making, profit orientated one they wore concerning the abysmal Gaol fiasco…Cranbourne will spend the development money they have squirreled away for *this* patch of land (and part of the Gaol deal/obligations) to convert the Abbey Buildings instead etc…?
They can then ceremoniously hand over the 14 keys to the “Abbey Flats” to the Vale at the same time as giving the Vale the £2m on completion of its Old gaol obligations.
See.. it’s easy when you put your mind to it. All we need now is a Council Officer to find reasons why all this can’t be done…rather than why it can!
Oh well…another ripe opportunity of blue sky thinking low hanging fruit, to be missed no doubt!
Couldn’t agree more Colin S!
Steve King, the land is owned by the Vale and will continue to be so.
The development, provided by Cranbourne, will be owned by the Vale as part of the section 106 agreement on the Old Gaol Development to provide Social Housing.
The Vale will use a HA partner to manage the property. Not Sovereign. It will be managed by one of the HAs that specialise in managing emergency accomodation, as is 45 the Vineyard.
Thanks Angela (Lawrence?)
Yes, Steve, that’s me. Town and District councillor, trying to do what’s best for the town and the Vale and the people therein, pleasing some of the people some of the time but wont ever manage to please all of the people all of the time 🙁
especially when it comes to meeting housing need for those not in a position to meet it themselves
And a very good job you’re making of it too Angela !!
Thank you Steve, I appreciate that
My turn. Well if it’s not packing in houses, what is this then? It’s certainly being packed into this lovely, natural wildlife site. Certainly it’s a shame all people can’t be pleased all of the time eh, but maybe some of the people being please some of the time must be those receiving whatever benefits they’ll reap from this wee development.
Green spaces are a great benefit to our environment. They filter pollutants and dust from the air, they provide shade and lower temperatures in urban areas, and they even reduce erosion of soil into our waterways. These are just a few of the environmental benefits that green spaces provide.
Hey ho …… let’s find some green spaces to give up shall we.
Please make sure that you save these photos, Backstreeter, it won’t be many years from now that we won’t recognise/comprehend what “green” is, when we live in our concrete jungle that is conjoined with all of the other concrete jungles that the Vale/Government have planned for us. We will need all of the photos that we can get to remind our Grandchildren/Great-Grandchildren of the future, how lovely our town once was.
Emergency accommodation is vital but Is there not a small, empty office block that can be converted into living spaces, or an empty warehouse that can be demolished, rather than cutting down beautiful trees that have taken decade to grow and will not be replaced?
I agree that it is very sad to lose what has become a natural wildlife area. However this has only happened because of the long delay in getting the development work done that was always intended once the nursery moved out.
I am asking for (as local member) and hope very much that the trees lining the site will stay, and certainly the view in the second picure should remain unchanged. That is a public right of way and I have asked that if any of the trees that lie along the boundary are removed they will be replaced with planting on the other side.
It is also worth noting that the path that you see in the second picure leads straight into Boxhill woods. The wood togther with Boxhill park to the left of it, I think has now been designated as one the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee fields and therefore protected against future development. I say think, because it was certainly agreed at council last year when both me and Monica Lovatt ( it lies in her ward as well as mine) asked for it, but as ever, these things take time to go through “the process”.
Well this is being built about 3 inches from my back fence, the view from my bedroom window is no longer to be trees 🙁
The land is completely unsuitable for development, for instance my back garden which is just inches from the site is collapsing and it doesn’t have a 2 story building on it! The whole area is on a slope and if levelled will be about 1 inch above the level of the Stert.
They’ve barely got room to build on the land so it’s literally going to back right onto my garden fence.
Completely madness to build there.