Melancholy at Monk's Brook...

Above & below; views of the informal paths that will be lost.

Red Deer are regularly seen in the field which is well used recreationally. Make the most of it...

Southampton City Council Planning & Rights of Way Panel convened a special meeting to consider the issue of a Transit site for Traveller and Gypsy at Monks Brook last night. For a reasonably accurate press report of the proceedings click HERE.
The plans themselves can be reviewed HERE.

I write this with a sense of melancholy as I was unable to persuade my colleagues from Labour & the Lib-Dems to vote against the scheme.

I think their decision was flawed in that it departs from the Planning and Open Spaces guidance PPG17 ' Planning for open space, sport and recreation' in a number of regards (e.g. the site is clearly not surplus to requirements, they have not convinced the local community of the need for development).

The site also conflicts against policy H15 (there must be no adverse impact on the amenities of existing residential or business uses), the Local Plan Review CLT4 (the site has recreational value and is a loss of amenity land). I am not satisfied that the Council's review of other sites was robust enough or that they presented their results in an unbiased and academically vigorous way. Contamination of the Monks Brook itself could have catastrophic consequences for the Salmon pool further downstream at Woodmill.

The worste point of all in the evening was about two hours into the meeting when Cllr Davis asked if there was going to be any provision for toilets on site. Based on that comment and given that most of the buildings on the site are toilet blocks, she clearly hadn't even looked at the plans...

All in all most depressing.