INTERBRIDGES
SITE EMSWORTH
PHOTOS:
To see the photos in the reports click the
blue
underlined links
and use your back button to return to this
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Emsworth
Residents Association
- This
web site has lots of information about the new
planning application, including the history of other
applications to develop the site. Go to Latest News.
Plant
List
- Preliminary
plant list for the Interbridges Site by Brian
Fellows
NEWS
IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
NOVEMBER
2005
News has come through
that Viv Williams' Interbridges East planning
application for 10 industrial units has been passed by
HBC. When developed, this will include traffic lights
on New Brighton/Horndean Road and a commuter car park
for 20 cars as well as a footpath between New Brighton
Road and Seagull Lane footpath.
THURSDAY
AUGUST 4 2005
I had a walk around
this site for the first time since it was "invaded" by
travellers and their horses for grazing last December.
From a wildlife point of view, I would say the site
probably has improved as a result of the scrub
clearance and grazing carried out by the travellers.
The grasses and other plants are growing again and the
area looks lush and green.
Lush
growth of grasses on the Inter-bridges site, Emsworth
- 04.08.05
Compare with this
photo taken in September last year.
Interbridges
Site - 09.09.04
I did not notice
anything not on the plant list assembled last year,
though some plants looked particularly good, such as
Black Knapweed and Scentless Mayweed. As before there
was plenty of Stone Parsley and Meadow Barley, far
more of the latter than we have on Brook Meadow. There
is a Site For Sale notice by Austin Adams
www.austinadams.co.uk on the New Brighton Road side,
which means Mr Viv Williams is getting rid of this
controversial piece of land.
TPOs
on trees on the IBS? - December 19 2004
Richard Hackwell the
Tree Officer with Havant Borough Council has visited
the Interbridges Site to inspect the trees. He says
some of the trees are in good condition, but for a TPO
to be legally possible, a threat of damage or removal
must be identified. Under the current proposal there
is no threat to the trees, since they are to be
retained within a landscaping strip alongside the
railway embankment. Richard has requested that the
planned footpath beneath the trees and a number of the
parking bays near to the trees are constructed using a
no dig design which will prevent damage to the trees
root system. A number of the trees, Limes and Horse
chestnuts, are in poor condition and will require
regular remedial works to maintain them in a safe
condition this makes them unsuitable for a TPO. Trees
close to rail lines require regular safety works and
TPOs can hinder this essential work, therefore TPOs
are only made on rail side trees in extreme
circumstances. So sadly, there is no current case to
make a TPO on this site.
Clearance of scrub on the Interbridges Site - Sunday
5th December
I had a phone message
from Frances last night to say there had been some
clearance activity on the Interbridges Site. Fearing
this could herald the owner/developer preparing the
site for development I decided to have a quick look
this morning. My worst fears were not realised. There
certainly had been some rather crude clearance of
Brambles, Hawthorns and other scrub, but the work was
clearly to prepare for horses grazing (of which there
were two on the site) and not for development.
Scrub
clearance on the Interbridges Site, Emsworth -
05.12.04
Horses
grazing on the Interbridges Site -
05.12.04
Application
withdrawn - Tuesday 2nd November 2004
Great news for all the
protestors to this unwanted industrial development in
Emsworth was the letter from Havant Borough Council
this week informing everyone . . . "the application
has been withdrawn by the applicant". Whether this
represents an abandonment of the whole idea of
development on the land by the owner, or merely a
review of proposal remains to be seen. Ominously, the
plan maybe to return to an earlier more modest
proposal (without traffic lights) which did receive
outline planning permission. Or maybe the owner (a
local resident) will do something for the community
and donate the land to the people of Emsworth. Now
that would be something to celebrate!
Havant
Borough Council asking for another survey - Monday 18
October 2004
A couple of days ago I
had a phone call from Alison Pinkney from Planning and
Development of Havant Borough Council, asking me if
she could send my representation and the attached
plant list to the applicant. I said that was OK by me.
Alison told me that, as a result of my representation
about the proposed development, in which I asked for a
full environmental survey to be carried out by the
Hampshire Wildlife Trust, she would be asking the
applicant to arrange for an independent survey of the
site to be carried out. Alison said she had received
the report from the Hampshire County Council
Biodiversity Group, but would still require a further
survey to be carried out. This is very good news, but
I doubt if the new survey will find anything
significant.
Then today, Ralph Hollins phoned to say he had a visit
from a representative of Parnell Designs in Havant,
who are the Agents for the development, asking him if
the Hampshire Wildlife Trust would do a survey of the
site, since Havant Borough Council had insisted on a
proper environemtal assessment being done. Ralph told
him to get in touch with the Trust. Is there still
some hope?
SINC
STATUS NOT GRANTED - Wednesday 13
October
Hbic (Hampshire
Biodiversity Information Centre) carried out a
wildlife survey of the site in the week beginning 27
September 2004. Interbridges Site, Emsworth SU 7496
0636 Havant Borough Council 30/09/2004 Joel
Miller
Brief summary
The site is two fields squeezed between the A27
and a railway line, situated on the outskirts of
Emsworth. The fields are rough and scrubby but have a
fair diversity of species, including 3 grassland
indicator species; Hoary Ragwort, Stone Parsley and
Meadow Barley.
The western field has extensive Bramble and Hawthorn
scrub along with locally abundant Michaelmas Daisy and
Canadian Goldenrod. The sward is improved to
semi-improved. The main grasses are Ryegrass,
Cock’s Foot, False Oat-grass and Bents. Herb
presence is fair with Fleabane, Ragworts, Plantains,
Black Knapweed and Clovers. Stone Parsley was locally
abundant in places.
The eastern field has much less scrub and tall-herb
invasion. The sward is similar to the western field,
with more abundant False Oat-grass and some areas of
low diversity. However, all three indicator species
were present with Stone Parsley locally
frequent.
Not good news from the
results of the botanical survey carried out on the
Interbridges Site by the HCC surveyor, as Nicky Court
from the Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre
explains
Letter to Havant
BC
"I have now had a
verbal reply and a short summary from our survey. The
written summary doesn't give the grassland 'type'
which over the phone Joel gave as MG6->MG1 i.e.
semi-improved to improved grassland and grassland
dominated by false oat grass. So although the meadows
support 3 indicators (our notional threshold for SINC
meadows) I would not propose them as SINCs as they
are too borderline. One of the indicators, Stone
Parsley, in particular, occasionally turns up on
disturbed ground as well as old pasture and I think on
the basis of all the data we have collected over the
past 20 years it may be time to review the indicator
list. If MG6->MG5 (semi-improved to unimproved)
grassland had been found then (as at Land West of
Emsworth Recreation Ground) then we might have had a
case for proposing the site as a SINC. Of course, such
meadows, particularly where there is a gradation from
grassland through to scrub, are likely to support a
range of invertebrates some of which may be notable.
An early summer botanical & invertebrate survey
may have revealed more. I would imagine Policy NC5
(OTHER FEATURES OF NATURE CONSERVATION INTEREST) would
apply here? A more detailed survey might identify some
of the more species rich areas that could be
safeguarded?"
PS I did have a chat
with Mr Williams. he was quite bemused as to why the
sudden interest when planning permission had been
given some time ago. I did explain that Havant BC
should have requested an ecological survey before any
permission had been given and that I was not sure
whether this survey would be able to influence
anything.
PUBLIC
MEETING - Thursday
30 September 2004
There was a public
meeting at 7.30pm in Community Centre organised by
David Jones. An excellent turnout of about 100. David
gave a summary of the proposal then Brian Fellows made
a statement about the wildlife value of the site and
the need to conserve it in the face of global warming.
I said that I had met the Hampshire County Council
surveyor on site this morning and that over 70 plants
had been found, including 3 meadow indicators. I
confirmed the Brook Meadow Conservation Group would be
prepared to look after the site if the development did
not go ahead. There was lots of criticism of
development regarding its effect on traffic from the
audience. Everyone at the meeting was asked to fill in
a form with their objections to the development and
these forms would be returned to the Council. Viv
Williams, the owner of the site, was present and gave
a defence of his position by arguing that the main
object of the development was to create jobs in the
area, thus creating the image of himself as some sort
of public benefactor! Significantly, he did not once
mention the wildlife that would be destroyed if the
development went ahead. Does he really care? Maybe he
will respond if he reads this page.
SURVEY
BY HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
-
Thursday
30 September 2004
I met Joel Miller from
the Hampshire County Council Biodiversity Centre on
the site this morning carrying out a plant survey. He
already had a copy of my preliminary plant list. Joel
was most interested in the three old meadow indicators
that I found: Hoary Ragwort, Meadow Barley and Stone
Parsley. We found all three on the site. Joel was
particularly impressed with the Stone Parsley which he
classified as "locally abundant". We found Stone
Parsley in several areas. The Meadow Barley was
confined to the eastern section. Joel also found
Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis) and we looked for
the Fescue Hybrid (Festulolium loliaceum), but did not
find it.
In addition to my
earlier plant list I noted Cut-leaved Crane's-bill and
Common Centaury, both in flower, Meadow Fescue and
Sweet Vernal Grass taking my total plant list for the
Interbridges Site to 71.
Joel's overall view of
the site was that it was a relatively poor
semi-improved grassland with scrub. However, the
presence of three old meadow indicators made the site
interesting and potentially of SINC status. Management
would clerly improve the site. Management should
concentrate on containing the invasive scrub and
reducing the dominance of escaped species, such as
Michaelmas Daisies and Canadian Goldenrod.
ARTICLES
IN THE PORTSMOUTH NEWS - 21 and 23 September
2004
Two articles on the
Interbridges Site appeared in The Portsmouth News. The
first on Tuesday 21 Sept under the headline "Residents
battling to save village from the concrete jungle",
highlighted the proposed set of traffic lights in New
Brighton Road. David Jones, John Tweddle and Vicky
Kimm were quoted being strongly against the scheme,
but Council Leader David Gilletts was reported to be
giving his support to the development "... we have to
think about the application's plus points because they
already have permission to build there". The fact that
developers Chalklane Land have already got outline
planning permission for the site is worrying, but how
much publicity did that first proposal get? And how
many objections there were to it? I certainly did not
know about it did you?
The second News
article appeared on Thursday 23 Sept under the
headline "How eco experts may wreck plan for village
warehouses". It quoted my preliminary plant survey
finding 46 herbs, 15 trees and shrubs and 6 grasses on
the site and mentions the fact that the Hampshire
Biodiversity Information Centre would be carrying out
a survey on the site. Let's hope they find something
rare or protected. The article indicated, correctly,
that the Brook Meadow Conservation Group has offered
to look after the site. It also noted that a new
footpath from New Brighton Road to Seagull Lane is
proposed, presumably for people to go from the station
down to Lumley. This aspect of the proposal has not
received much publicity.
NEWS
. . . from Frances Jannaway
"This planning
application has been red carded which means it has to
go before the Development Control Committee.
David Jones has been given the opportunity to make a 5
minute presentation to this committee. This is why he
has called the public meeting. We will need all the
support we can get to show HBC that the residents do
not want this site to be developed.
As a last resort, the
ERA might have to pay for a traffic survey to show
that this area is not suitable for increased traffic.
This is also in view of the fact that the other side
of this road also between the railway and the A27
(which about 5 times the size) is likely to be
included in the Local Plan for a second industrial
development with all the traffic coming onto the New
Brighton Road. This is likely mainly because the
Interbridges site has been granted outline planning
permission for industrial use and a traffic light
controlled junction has been approved to control the
access to and from this site."
Formal
objection to the proposal for industrial development
on the Interbridges Site
Brian
Fellows 14 September 2004
I would like to lodge
a formal objection to the proposal to develop the
Interbridges Site on New Brighton Road, Emsworth. The
chief ground of my objection is that the proposal
would destroy about 1 hectare of very good wildlife
habitat in an area that is deficient in unimproved dry
grassland. I have visited the site on several
occasions, having only recently become aware of the
proposal, which appears to have had very little
advance publicity. The site gets better on each visit.
Despite the traffic rushing by on the A27 it is a
lovely haven of wildlife. There is a wonderful array
of wild flowers, not bettered anywhere in the
immediate vicinity. The site also has a dense
undergrowth of Brambles and Hawthorn around the edges,
providing excellent habitat for a variety of birds and
other wildlife. I heard Robin and Chiffchaff singing
while I was there and several butterflies were flying
including Green-veined White, Common Blue and Red
Admiral. Come the spring the site will be alive with
bird song and butterflies. I saw several dragonflies
including Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers. All this
( and more) would be destroyed by the proposed
development which would be a very unfortunate loss in
wildlife habitat for the local area. We should be
protecting what we have left of wildlife not getting
rid of it. Once gone, it is lost for ever.
In a quick survey I
recorded a total of 67 plants, including 15 trees and
shrubs and 6 grasses, though there are no doubt many
more which a more experienced botanist would pick up.
I attach my plant list to this e-mail in support of my
objection. I would recommend a proper survey be
carried out by a member of the Hampshire Wildlife
Trust, probably in the spring to determine the
wildlife value of the site, before any hasty action be
taken regarding its development.
Of special interest to
me was the abundance of Common (or Black) Knapweed on
the site, plus three old meadow indicators in Hoary
Ragwort, Stone Parsley and Meadow Barley. Of more
decorative value were the swathes of yellow flowers of
Canadian Goldenrod interspersed with Michaelmas
Daisies and Common Toadflax. All would be sadly
destroyed by the proposed development. Among the trees
on the site are three very tall Scots Pines along with
numerous Hawthorn, Sycamore and Elder and a few Lime,
Horse Chestnut, Ash, Willow and Maple. All would be
felled in the proposed development.
I asked local expert
naturalist Ralph Hollins to come over to Emsworth to
look at the site. He was also impressed with the site
and I have attached to this e-mail an extract of his
supportive comments which I have taken from his web
site at http://www.havnn.net/Diary.htm
As Ralph rightly
indicates the site needs management in order that it
does not get totally overgrown with scrub. I gather it
has been grazed in the past and this would seem to be
a suitable method of management for the site, which
(unlike Brook Meadow) is relatively self-contained and
well fenced. Concerning Ralph's comments about the
Brook Meadow Conservation Group helping in the
management, as Chairman of the group I can confirm
that the group would in principle be willing to manage
the site were the proposal to be rejected.
Two other points about
the proposal:
1. I noticed there was
a new footpath labelled "yet to be agreed" along the
southern boundary of the site on the site layout map,
but there was no mention of this in the proposal. Is
this to be a public footpath?
2. I would also like
reassurance that the present public footpath leading
north from the end of Seagull Lane would not be
affected by the proposal.
Comments
on the Interbridges Site Emsworth by Ralph Hollins -
10 Sept 2004.
Brian Fellows invited
me to join him this afternoon in a visit to a plot of
land between the railway line and the A27 east of
Emsworth rail station. A planning application has just
been submitted to build a mini-industrial park on the
land and Brian wondered if there was a valid case for
opposing it on wildlife grounds, and I said I would
join him in a search for evidence to support a valid
case against development.
The land in question
is only 200 metres from west to east and just over 100
metres from the railway on the south to the A27 on the
north, tapering to much less than that where it abuts
the North Street/New Brighton Road from which it would
be accessed with new traffic lights on the existing
road to allow traffic to turn in and out with
safety.
It has been lightly
grazed by a few ponies but otherwise neglected since
the demolition (back in the late 1970s? to make way
for the new A27) of the maternity hospital which
previously maintained the land as grounds around the
house.
Scrub and brambles
have taken hold on a good part of the land, aided by
trees planted alongside the new road, and in the short
time we were there four trains clanked past us on the
south side while the noise from the A27 to the north
was never ending. Despite these factors I suspect the
land in question has never been ploughed, and with
good management it could no doubt support a variety of
plants and insects (which do not suffer from noise
pollution!) to maintain bio-diversity in the area. To
achieve the same biodiversity on an equivalent sized
plot of land which has been subject to modern
agricultural or domestic gardening management with
chemicals would be a much more difficult and lengthy
process, so why throw away an amenity which cannot
easily be replaced?
As I suspect there
will be strong objections to new traffic lights on a
busy and narrow road, the only one connecting old
Emsworth to its northern extension and further afield
to the north, and as I think there is a good case for
preserving this unimproved habitat, I feel it is well
worth making the case for saving it.
From what I have said
so far this case could be demolished by the argument
that if you prevent the development and leave the site
to nature it will soon lose all its amenity value by
becoming overgrown with scrub. So we need to add a
positive proposal for its long term management, and I
think there is a good chance of doing so if the group
of stalwarts who have done so much to manage and
enhance Brook Meadow are prepared to commit to the
long term management of this site which is only just
the other side of the railway from the north end of
the existing Brook Meadow site. If they did so they
would gain something that Brook Meadow does not
currently have - a dry grassland site to supplement
the wetland habitat of the current site.
Leaving the politics
aside one of the first things we found on the site
were several Green-veined Whites which (inlike the
Cabbage Whites which roam the countryside - many
coming as migrants from the continent - and damage
market garden crops) do no damage to any domestic or
agricultural crops and live a sedentary life in small
colonies (development of the site could well destroy
this colony). We also found much Black Knapweed, a
typical if common inhabitant of downland, and before
we left we came on a cluster of Giant Puffballs. One
prominent plant here at this time of year was not a
valued native, but nothing worse than Canadian
Goldenrod which probably grew in the hospital grounds,
While there we also heard Chiffchaff song reminding us
that this narrow belt of land is the only unbuilt on
green corridor connecting the Ems Valley with the open
fields of the Havant/Emsworth gap and the Warblington
area.
THE
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT - MY FIRST VISIT TO THE SITE -
Thursday 9 Sept
PHOTOS
Interbridges
Site Emsworth
. . . Interbridges
Site Emsworth
. . . Interbridges
Site Emsworth
I paid a visit to the
Planning Dept of Havant Borough Council to look at the
proposal for industrial development on the
Interbridges Site on New Brighton Road, Emsworth.
Applicant is Chalklane Land in Somerset. Agent is
Parnell Designs Havant. Owner is Viv Williams of
Hollybank House.
Outline planning
permission for this site was originally granted in
April 2002. I suspect that the area is designated for
industrial development in the Havant Plan.
The site is about 1
hectacre in size. It is roughly triangular in shape
with New Brighton Road marking the western bounday,
the A27 the northern boundary, the railway the
southern boundary and the public footpath from the end
of Seagull Lane towards Westbourne the eastern
boundary. Grid Ref SU750064. The site does not include
the land to the east of this footpath, as I was
originally led to believe. However, the proposal could
be the thin end of a wedge and in future might expand
the site across the footpath to include the land
currently owned by Constant Springs. Nor is the public
footpath affected as someone mentioned to me. There is
a new footpath labelled "yet to be agreed" along the
southern boundary of the site on the site layout map,
but there was no mention of this in the proposal. I am
not sure if this would be a public
footpath.
The proposal is to
erect 14 two-story industrial units for small scale
businesses. In addition, there will be 70 car parking
spaces, including 46 for the proposed development and
24 for customers of Emsworth Railway Station. There
will also be covered space for 20 bicycles. Access to
the site will be from New Brighton Road controlled by
traffic signals, including a signalled pedestrian
crossing from the station.
Anyone wishing to make
a representation about the proposal should write to
Head Of Planning and Development, Havant Borough
Council, Civic Offices, Havant, Hants PO9 2AX or
e-mail to representations@havant.gov.uk by 15th
September.
I walked round the
site this afternoon to see if any case could be made
out for an objection to the proposal from a wildlife
point of view. My overall impression was that it was
an interesting and attractive site, despite the
proximity of the A27 traffic. Although I hate to say
it, it was more attractive than Brook Meadow is at
this time of the year. The grass was short with little
of the rank growth of tall grasses and other plants
that currently typifies Brook Meadow. This was no
doubt the result of recent grazing. It was also full
of wild flowers with a dense undergrowth of Brambles
and Hawthorn around the edges which must support a lot
of bird life as well as other wildlife.
In a rather quick
survey I recorded a total of 56 species of plant
including 44 herbs, 9 trees and 3 grasses, but there
are certainly far more than this. There were 42 plants
in flower. Of special interest was the widespread
presence of Common (or Black) Knapweed, which in its
rayed form is said to be an indication of ancient
meadows (Hants Flora p.231). Black Knapweed is scarce
on Brook Meadow. Also of ecological interest were two
old meadow indicators in Hoary Ragwort and Stone
Parsley. Of more decorative value were the swathes of
yellow flowers of Canadian Goldenrod interspersed with
those of Michaelmas Daisies and Common Toadflax. Trees
on the site included 3 very tall Scots Pines along
with numerous Hawthorn, Sycamore and Elder and a few
Lime, Horse Chestnut, Ash, Willow and
Maple.
