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COMMUNITY MEETING NOTES

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Did you wonder what happened at the recent community/business meeting.  Here are the notes.  Big thank you to Heather who bravely managed to make some sense of all the lively discussions going on!!
THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON THURSDAY 4 OCTOBER AT 7PM.
 in the Baptist Church, London Road, Waterlooville (opposite the Woodpecker Pub)
It had been hoped to have it on 11 September but venues were not available


Community/Business Meeting at WACA, 18th July 2018.

Present: CLLR Peter Wade, CLLR Tim Pike, Jackie Buckley (chair of WET), Heather Foster (secretary of WET) and more than 200 members of the local community

Cllr Pike opened the meeting
·         Regeneration - a high priority and would like to hear your suggestions. The appearance of town centres is changing due to online shopping and we will see more cafes and other services. Please talk to your ward councillors or our officers at the Plaza about any bids for CiL funds or suggestions you may have.
·         Homes – with the changing face of town centres, we need more people living there. 1,100 new homes have been built so far with more to come. 30% of these homes must be affordable housing, as required by The National Policy Framework. There are 17,000 families on the waiting list and the need is growing, particularly for single person homes.  Developers are required to pay the council per square metre, providing funds (CiL money) . The council is currently in discussion with the government on how to free up more brown field sites for development
·         Transport – We need to improve public transport in the area to help with the parking problem. A bid has been put forward for funding for bus services to Havant and other routes.

Questions and Comments

1) Why didn’t the council hold the meeting about Wellington way in Waterlooville, given that there is no suitable transport to Havant.
Response - This was due to cost as audio and visual equipment were required.

2) Is the Wellington Way development going ahead? The proposed development is contrary to providing affordable housing as the homes will be too small for families on the waiting list, and it only benefits the developers. The proposed flats are aimed at young professionals without a car. But there are no leisure facilities and there is no good transport, so they won’t buy them
Most people don’t want the Wellington Way development, which will be 9 storeys high. The church, which has been there 200 years, will be towered over. These apartments will be below legal limits. We need a lower level building with 3 storeys maximum.
 
Response - An investor has made an application to the council for approval. It still has to go to the planning committee (DMC) If it is not successful it will most likely go to appeal

3) Small retailers are leaving due to massive increases in rents and business rates. The buildings have also not been maintained.

Response – The council cannot control decisions made by landlords, and business rates are set by The National Council. We have been able to allocate £200,000 across the borough towards business rates.

4) No one has challenged the shops regarding their poor state, such as broken windows. Some shops need to be renovated but nothing is done.

5) We were going to have a cinema and bowling alley, but this didn’t happen

6) Wetherspoons have been keen on Waterlooville in Bloom but there has been a lot of apathy from other businesses
Response – It is hard for many local businesses who are struggling to make ends meet

      7) Why don’t we open the roads up and allow 30min parking on the side of the road? Was    
       there support to open part of the precinct for parking?
Response - Only 30% of the public supported it.

8) Waterlooville needs its own parish council

9) Nothing has been done about the post office moving
Response – This is not a council decision

10) I spent two hours in the town centre today and I feel that if people keep saying there is nothing there and keep being negative, then nothing will change. We need to bring in more families, the next generation. But I don’t think that we should open the roads to parking for safety reasons

11) I have been a resident in Waterlooville since 1958 and have seen it go downhill. The investment in the bus lane didn’t work properly. Build a park instead of new developments in Wellington Way. A lot of promises are not met.

12) There is scope for the council to move the town centre near to Lidl. This would provide an alternative to the money grabbing landlords

13) How can we spread the footfall between the town centre and the retail park?

14) South end of Waterlooville - Customers struggle to park near our shop and we have a small footfall, also we have problems with deliveries.  Suggestion: Could the road have exit via the road with the bollards so cars would not have to turn aound.

15) We should move the community centre into the town centre, develop it more and build a garden

16) What can we do to stop the monstrosity being built in Wellington Way?
Response – Written responses can be made to the three ward councillors who can articulate your views at the planning meeting. Alternatively, you can speak at the meeting.

17) Information about the development needs to be publicly available
Response – This information is available in the library or online.

18) The council has donated £450 for seating in St Georges gardens and it is a privilege to see people sitting on the benches at lunch time.

19) Havant park is not maintained; on one hand it took 8 months to fix a zip wire, on the other hand the bowling club have a private car park. In addition, people let their dogs urinate in the sandpit. I spoke to my ward councillor, but nothing has been done

20) Can we have a PA system in the next meeting as we can’t hear well.
Response – yes

21) How far are we with the Wellington Way development?
Response – The application is in place and there will be a public meeting with the councillors at the Plaza. The council will fight on your behalf but can do nothing more if it goes to appeal.

22) More would come to these meetings if they knew about them. How can we put posters on public notice boards?
Response – We have a list of people with the keys for the notice boards and we can advertise in the Rate Payer.

AOB
·         CLLR Mike Sceal has a working group looking at the park renovation and Jackie will email out the date of the next meeting for this. It is possible to apply for funding, but this funding needs to be matched 
·         Can anyone help get information out there?                                         ALL

NEXT MEETING: 4 OCTOBER 7PM IN THE BAPTIST CHURCH, WATERLOOVILLE. (opposite Woodpecker pub)                                                                                                              














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