News: James Painter declines Parish Council invitation

James Painter, the landowner behind the planned 75-home development has declined Chilbolton Parish Council’s invitation to a Village meeting, and the opportunity to speak to the community.

His letter also includes a rebuttal of several points currently being raised in objections to his development.

Replying to Cllr David Hall in his role as Chair of the Community Development Committee, Mr Painter says:

Thank you for inviting me to meet with the CDC and present my application to the community.

Given my Outline Planning Application was formally lodged with TVBC on 12th November, at this time instead of meeting can I please refer you to the various detailed reports submitted within this fully explained application.

Mr Painter also says “in due course I wish to continue to work with the community, indeed this is partly why I chose to submit an Outline Application, which allows scope for collaboration when addressing the details of the scheme which are yet to be finalised.”

In response, Chilbolton Parish Council issued this statement:

The Parish Council yesterday received a response from James Painter to our letter of 22nd November, asking him to meet with the community concerning his proposed 75-home development adjacent to the village hall. We are pleased that he has contacted us in advance of our formal response but are somewhat disappointed that he has declined to join our public sessions or engage with the community’s concerns personally. Instead, he has addressed some of these in his letter and has pointed to the detailed proposals on TVBC’s website.

CPC believes the best way forward is to enter into negotiations with James and to seek to find common ground for a way forward. Leaving this until after TVBC’s Planning Committee have ruled on this application is, in our view, too late. We are still pushing to meet with James and his team as part of our discussions with landowners on our own community-led housing project for 20-25 homes and will stress this in our response.

Mr Painter makes these points in response to public comments on Test Valley Borough Councils’s webpage for the development:

  • He explains that sewerage will run directly to the wastewater treatment plant, not to the pumping station in Village Street. He claims “the regular smell” is from the Tunnel Tech mushroom plant
  • Surface water on the site, he says, will be dealt with by “extensive measures” specified in the scheme plan
  • He confirms he would not propose street lighting in the development, protecting dark skies
  • Wherwell School would be able to accommodate children from the new development by taking fewer pupils from out of catchment
  • He says the proposed new shop is not a competitor to the existing shop, but a “better alternative”
  • The design of the new homes will need to be agreed with TVBC planners and “where appropriate the development will need to comply with the Chilbolton Neighbourhood Plan and built inline with demand”