News: TVF - TVBC planners approve five conditions and amend one
The Northern Area Planning Committee agreed to “bolster” a planning condition to protect wildlife at the Test Valley Farm 5-home development.
Earlier in the day, planning officers also approved five other conditions, including the controversial construction traffic route to the TVF site
Condition 2 - tinted windows
The NAPC meeting on 4 Jun 2026, was notable for being the first time Chilbolton Parish Cllr Debbie Collis addressed the Committee.
Under discussion was a variation of the design of some windows and the roof elevations within the TVF development. Some windows would be larger, and some roofs would be 20cm taller.
During her allowed three minutes, Cllr Collis said “the amendments introduce larger windows and significantly greater glazing areas.” She added “the approved scheme used bespoke, first-floor slit windows on Units 1,4 and 5 to minimise external illumination.”
She pointed out that the reason for this was “important for bat behaviour and compliance with Chilbolton Neighbourhood Plan dark sky policy.” It would also ensure a “barn-like character appropriate to the rural setting.”
She said the proposed larger windows would “represent a clear and material change in scale, balance and character, which is not acceptable.”
The applicant, Alfred Homes, had confirmed their intention to use specialist tinted glass, and had agreed this with Ecology specialists from TVBC. Cllr Collis said that this would not be enforceable because “it is not secured by a condition,” and asked that it should be addressed if permission were granted.
She concluded her speech, precisely as her three minutes expired, and was greeted with a ripple of applause from the Chilbolton residents who attended.
Mr Chris Rees, Planning Director for Alfred Homes then spoke briefly. He said that between the design and construction phases, the availability of materials and components change.
TVBC Councillors questioned whether the reasons behind the changes were necessary or simply economic.
Taking up Cllr Collis’s point, TVBC Cllr Carl Borg-Neal asked planning officers if condition 2 of the planning permission could be “bolstered” to take account of Cllr Collis’s concerns.
After a brief conference, planning officers present said that a rider, agreed with their colleagues from Ecology, would be attached to the condition. It would require specialised tinted glass to be used for windows facing the woodland.
Permission for the variation to condition 2 was then unanimously voted through.
Five TVF conditions approved
Earlier in the day, TVBC planning officers had approved the developer’s response to five other conditions: 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.
Importantly condition 5, the Construction Environmental Management Plan specifies the route to be taken by construction traffic when going to and from the Test Valley Farm Site.
The route, agreed with Hampshire County Council Highways, takes vehicles from the Mayfly Bridge, along Coley Lane, right into Drove Road and right again into Little Drove Road.
Chilbolton Parish Council’s objection to this plan and their follow-up response have effectively been ignored by planners.
The points made by CPC include the suitability of Little Drove Road:
The [Construction Site Management Plan] fails to demonstrate that construction traffic can safely access the site via Little Drove Road, a narrow unclassified rural lane with no footways and frequent use by pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians, and agricultural vehicles.
Little Drove Road is a no-through lane, providing access only to three residential properties and Test Valley Farm. It is wholly unsuited to the type and volume of construction traffic anticipated.
They also point to:
- Narrow rural lanes
- Tight, substandard junctions
- No swept-path analysis or width assessment
- No mitigation for public rights of way, pedestrians, horse riders or cyclists
Members of Stop Chilbolton Over-development are horrified by this news. One extremely angry resident last night said “I for one will not be budging from the tarmac.”