Plans for 30 green gap homes in Horndean stately home refused

Sunley Estates angered residents of Horndean when it put out leaflets urging them to ‘support injured service personnel’ by getting behind plans for a 30-home estate on land belonging to Cadlington House, Blendworth.

In fact just a tiny number – two – of the 30 homes proposed by the developers would have been for injured service personnel.

Almost 300 people signed a petition against the plans over fears about the loss of the 
green gap, an increase in traffic, and harm to the character of 
the Blendworth Conservation Area.

And now Julia Potter, the head of planning at East Hampshire District Council, has confirmed to Sunley that the plans have been refused.

In 2014 Sunley Estates had controversial plans to build 40 homes in Blendworth turned down – first by East Hampshire District Council’s planning committee and then by a planning inspector.

Councillor Guy Shepherd, who represents Horndean on the council, said: ‘It was important that this application was turned down.

‘It was outside the Settlement Policy Boundary and we have already identified the allocated sites to fulfil our own needs in the community.

‘This would have been building on a very visible and prominent site outside the SPB.

‘It’s somewhere we want to keep clear from development so it remains open space.

‘The character of Blendworth is very important to us.’

In a letter to Sunley, Mrs Potter said the plan ‘constitutes an unacceptable intrusion of development into an important gap between Horndean and Blendworth’.

She added: ‘The site forms a significant part of the open, undeveloped land between Horndean and Blendworth and the proposal would result in a 
significant reduction in the physical separation of the settlements,’

A spokesman for Sunley did not wish to comment.