News: Almost 60 percent turnout for development consultation

At the Chilbolton Community Land Trust meeting last night, Board member Cllr David Hall, who is also Chair of Chilbolton Parish Council, revealed that the turnout in the consultation on development options within the Village was “almost 60 percent”.

Action Hampshire, who conducted the consultation, had previously said that a 40 percent turnout would be a good result. It also compares well with a 34 percent turnout at the Parish Councillor by-election last year

Consultation results presentation

Action Hampshire have not yet collated the results of the consultation. Cllr Hall said that they would be presenting them at the next Parish Council meeting.

He also said that the agenda might be restructured to give focus to the presentation, and allow councillors time to discuss the results and agree the way forward for Chilbolton.

The consultation had offered electors in Chilbolton the chance to rank four housing options: the 75-home development at Drove Road, a 20-home community-led development at Drove Road, a 20-home community-led development at Gravel Hill, or no community-led development at all.

The results will be revealed for the first time at the Parish Council meeting on 2 Nov 2026 at 6pm in the Village Hall. As usual, it will be held in public and Villagers are invited to attend.

New housing lists

Cllr Hall also took the meeting through the decision made to “clarify and refresh” housing lists at the last Parish Council meeting. The lists hadn’t been updated since August 2025, and there had been some confusion within CPC about the definitions.

The new definitions no longer include self-build or downsize housing, which Cllr Hall said were “not CPC’s role to provide”.

Social rent would be provided by TVBC through Hampshire Home Choice.

The CPC-held lists would be:

• Affordable private rent, at least 20% below market rent
• Discounted market sales, with at least 20% discount
• Shared ownership or rent to buy

People interested in these housing categories are invited to register with the Parish Clerk.

Additionally, TVBC recommends that those applying for affordable rental with CPC should also register themselves with Hampshire Home Choice. They also recommend that people applying for shared ownership or rent to buy should register with Share to Buy.

Cllr Hall said that eligibility criteria for applicants would need to be defined. There would have to be nuance and that it would be “unlikely to be black and white.”

Andy Bradley suggested asking CCLT members for their thoughts, perhaps by emailing them.

75-home application

Cllr Hall reported that the Parish Council had lodged another objection to the 75-home planning application. It mainly featured the implications of the new National Planning Policy Framework.

Due to this “the tilted balance is gone,” he said. The new NPPF introduced a distinct difference between inside and outside the settlement boundary. The objection also cited planning precedents in Whitchurch and Oxfordshire to support its case.

He noted that a member of the public had made another objection based on similar grounds. The Observatory are also engaging with TVBC.

Neighbourhood Development Plan

Phase 1 of the NDP rewrite had been started in March 2026, Cllr Hall reported. Its aim was to add “material but not significant” changes. It included changing references to NPPF clauses. This work should be completed within two weeks. The Regulation 16 process would then take six weeks. It would then go to the Inspector.

The urgency in doing this was that the new NPPF had changed the importance of an NDP that was more than five years old from “little weight” to “no weight”.

Given the strength of the objections to the 75-home development, Cllr Hall said that it may seem that the new NDP might not matter, but he added “we don’t want to lose an arrow from the quiver.”

Models for building and managing homes

Maureen Treadwell OBE, who was chairing the meeting said that there were a number of models for how CCLT might achieve their objective for affordable housing. These included using a housing association, contracting a builder, or registering as a housing provider.

She warned, however, that registering as a housing provider was a “slow, bureaucratic process” while there were people waiting for affordable homes now.

The meeting discussed the operating models for English Rural, Wickham CLT and Botley CLT. Cllr Hall said that he would be interested in hearing what Wickham and Botley have done.

It was agreed that Wickham and Botley Community Land Trusts should be invited to present at the next CCLT meeting on 10 Nov 2026 at 7:30pm in the Village Hall, which CCLT members can attend.

Residents who aren’t yet CCLT members can apply for free membership at the CCLT website (Click “Login” then “Sign up”).

Financial model

Graeme Henry described the financial model he had created. He admitted that much of it had been guesswork, and that many questions had been raised. However it could help with the budget process.

The model covered revenue, costs, loans and interest, but could be adapted as more information becomes available.

Mr Henry said that he had contacted Mark Husson of the Community Development Committee, and they had compared estimates. Some areas had been close, but others such as property values and rentals, hadn’t.

Cllr Hall said that the financial model was a “good place to have a home for assumptions.” He also commended working together with Mark Hussan and the CDC.