Anger as plans to save Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve and Haven House are not supported by council officials

Members of Hampshire County Council (HCC) will meet on Monday (July 31) to review proposals for the nature reserve and the visitor’s centre and cafe, submitted by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) and the Titchfield Haven Community Hub (THCH) with recommendations made to refuse key proposals to save them.

The proposals were developed in response to HCC’s decision to sell the facility to address a £1.8m budget shortfall associated with the site.

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However, a report to the meeting claims that neither submission is viable or fully costed, leading to the recommendation to decline both proposals, saying they do not represent the best use of public resources.

Last week, councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, wrote a letter co-signed by Caroline Dinenage MP and Suella Braverman MP calling on HCC to approve the plans.

When asked about the latest development, he said: “I have seen the backlash that it’s creating, including from me.

“I think the letter that I wrote that Caroline Dinande and Suella Braverman co-signed was completely ignored.

“I think it was a great set of forward-thinking proposals which would have preserved and enhanced the nature conservation aspects of the nature reserve and haven house.

“It looks as if it’s all to be discarded which is really sad indeed and I know there’s a tremendous amount of work that’s gone into this. Thousands of man-hours of work have gone into this both from the wildlife trust and the Titchfield Haven house.

“I think they’ve taken quite a cautious approach with their predictions and it certainly does show that Haven House would be cost-deficient and sustainable.

“It shows some very exciting plans for biodiversity and sustainability of a lot more land on top of the nature reserve.

“It’s all being tossed aside, it’s not a visionary approach – the county council will be looking to flog off the haven house and haven cottage, chuck the money into the reserve and when the money runs out we’ll be straight back here again.”

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The plans submitted by THCH would have converted the haven house into a community hub with a cafe, educational activities, exhibitions, meeting space for local groups, and two holiday flats on the upper floor.

Pamela Charlwood, chair of THCH said: “We are deeply disappointed that there has been no dialogue between HCC and THCH.

“The analysis of our proposals in their report is fundamentally flawed: there are many statements and assumptions which are highly questionable.

“We are calling upon HCC to withdraw the report and to enter into constructive dialogue with THCH because we really believe there are ways of finding solutions which are good for HCC and equally good for all who love the Haven Centre.”