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)
.
.
.