RESIDENTS of Picket Piece have spoken out about their anger and upset following Test Valley Borough Council’s (TVBC) decision to grant permission for 16 additional homes on land promised as a junior sports pitch.

Wates Developments and David Wilson Homes Southern are set to build 16 new homes on land north of Ox Drove in Picket Piece.

People living in the area feel ‘let down’ by Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) which failed to secure the land as part of a Section 106 agreement, and have now granted developers permission for more homes on the site.

The land was earmarked for a leisure space at the time of the development of Picket Piece’s Locksbridge Park, however developers say that it was never called upon to be used as such, with environmental mitigation used elsewhere instead.

At a meeting of TVBC Northern Area Planning Committee on Thursday, January 27, members said they felt they had no legal grounds on which to reject the application, and it was narrowly approved after Cllr Carl Borg-Neal cast the deciding vote.

READ MORE: Picket Piece: Housing on land promised for sports pitch given green light

Emotions were high among the many members of the public who attended the meeting, with residents expressing their disappointment and fury at the decision.

Speaking to the Advertiser afterwards, Emma Crooke, who lives on Tolme Way, said: “I am simply gutted on the decision made.

“It was my first time attending anything like that and I must say I could see the corruption in the room and was astonished, especially with Cllr Nick Lodge being removed from the room and only being told 1.5 hours before the meeting that he was unable to vote. “

She continued: “There is already a green space deficit in the area which was acknowledged and agreed. Putting pressure on an already twisty narrow road with potentially 32 extra cars, not to mention all of the construction traffic, is going to be absolutely detrimental and it’s going to cause an unbelievable amount of damage to the roads.

“I think the entire community has been very let down. We are certainly seeking legal advice regarding a Class Action to recover losses as a result of this decision.”

This was echoed by another resident, Sarah Holloway, who said: “Never have a witnessed such a rigged system. First they remove a councillor because of impartiality rules I believe, when it was fine for him to attend all the other meetings surrounding this issue, and then we were not allowed to correct blatant lies when said as facts.

“I am severely disappointed that the council planning department did not refuse this and take some of the accountability of the situation that we find ourselves in.

“The council do not own the roads so the fees for the damages to the road with all those trucks could be passed onto the residents and while the meeting recommended mitigations I do not trust this council with the sheer negligent track record they have shown in this case.

“We are not opposed to building new houses. But those new houses need to come with proper infrastructure and amenities that create communities. This decision shows that developers can promise anything to get planning through and money in their pockets while slowly erasing the facilities promised. And there is nothing this council will do to stop that.”

SEE ALSO: Picket Piece residents object to plans for 16 new homes

Meanwhile, Chris Parker, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of residents, said: “I am crestfallen. The fact that Test Valley Borough Council allowed Wates to exploit a legal loophole in the first place, and now this.

“I have no issue with the committee members in the chamber tonight, I know a few of them were against the proposal but were unable to find a reason to vote it down. Thank you to our borough councillor Cllr Chris Donnelly, as well as Cllr David Coole and Cllr Richard Rowles who thoroughly scrutinised the application.”

He added: “I'm not interested in mitigation policies, as the promises from previous mitigation policies haven't been delivered seven years later. I thought that Test Valley Borough Council might have had some accountability, accept corporate responsibility for accepting a poorly worded Section 106 agreement, and for the subsequent negligent contract administration. As far as I am concerned the planning department are either negligent or complicit, either way I believe that residents shall be seeking legal advice regarding a Class Action to recover losses as a result of this decision.”

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