From: clerk@oldbasing.gov.uk <clerk@oldbasing.gov.uk>
Sent: Monday, August 7, 2023 12:25 PM
To: ‘carolyn.williamson@hants.gov.uk’ <carolyn.williamson@hants.gov.uk>
Subject: Hampshire County Council “Consultation” on Land East of Basingstoke
Dear Ms. Williamson,
On behalf of Old Basing and Lychpit Parish Council I am writing to strongly complain about the Hampshire County Council ‘consultation’ on Land East of Basingstoke. This deeply flawed exercise was conducted by Tibbalds and other companies likely to benefit from the development, plus token Hampshire County Council staff.
The so-called consultation was deficient in many respects as detailed below.
1. Poor Publicity
Two small posters were placed in a parish of over 7,000 residents. The notice given was only a few weeks for two brief
events. We were told there was a widespread letter drop in Lychpit and Old Basing, but this is untrue. No one received a letter or, if so, it was to a tiny and pre-selected group.
2. Lack of public events
A brief presentation was made to the Parish Council. 4 hours was set aside for a public event in Lychpit Hall and 3 hours for another in a small space in Chineham Library. There was no event held at all in Old Basing, the area of the Parish primarily affected, even though the organisers were advised of this omission.
3. Dubious methods of collecting responses at events
Residents were unable to see the information clearly at the events and were invited to attach post-it notes, rather than their responses being collated centrally. We have little confidence that post-it notes which object to the development will be included in any analysis.
4. Quick response timetable
Legitimate consultations usually take 3 months, not a few weeks in the summer when people may be away. The truncated consultation period is intended to limit responses.
5. Response form precludes negative comment
The questions on the website https://landeastofbasingstoke.com/are self-serving and simply invite responders to make only positive comments. There is no space offered to object in principle to the development only to reflect on the details.
6. No information about response analysis
There is no information given about who will conduct the analysis, or by when, or how the conclusions will be reported back to the public.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is a sham consultation where the only intention is to gather positive responses. At some future date – probably during the Regulation 18 process – the information will then be regurgitated to give the impression that a meaningful consultation took place. This was no more than a box-ticking exercise, poorly conducted, to add credence to the landowners’ case for further development in the Parish.
We will be notifying our residents of our concerns and request that you circulate this email to all the Hampshire County Councillors.
Yours sincerely
Sandra Tuck
Sandra Tuck
Clerk to Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council
T: 01256 462847
M: 07507 514498 (urgent matters & emergencies only)
E: clerk@oldbasing.gov.uk
W: www.oldbasing.gov.u