Crown Estate Public Consultation Fri 20th Jan (Part 2) - Public Opinion

Due to the North Dorset District Council local plan, it has been anticipated that there will be an extra need for new housing in Blandford Forum - therefore the Crown Estate are proposing that the Crown Meadow / Bryanston Park area be utilised to fulfill this requirement and hence build between 150-200 new homes. The CE held a public consultation on the 20th & 21st of January in Blandford, so they could explain to the public the CE's proposals regarding the Crown Meadows land and just as importantly, so the public in and around Blandford could have their say...

These 2 women are studying the traffic & access board
obviously they think that traffic & access is a key component as to whether or not
to give their approval for the proposed housing development

These 2 women left no stone un-turned in their evaluation of the CE proposed development
they both put many queries to the reps and were at the consultation for quite some time

1) A man who wished to remain anonymous said  "The traffic studies are misleading, more houses will mean more cars have go through the town centre" Against


2) A man who wished to remain anonymous said "It's possible that the information has been manipulated and the main problems with this are the surgeries and the schools and other infrastructure". Against


3) Peter said he had watched a program about the idea of giving people who have several bedrooms to spare, the option of swapping with people who have larger families that are stuck in housing that's too small. He also told TBB "You need to think out of the box when it comes to housing in this country" and then added "Why do we want more rich people in this area? Ashmore village is dead". Against


4) Haydn said "The present local plan doesn't contain the Crown Meadows as land that's been approved and the new plan has not been approved by the whole council". Against


5) Tom & Jenny (TBB has changed the names of this elderly husband & wife) Jenny said "This town will have to cope with the fallout" and Tom said "If they build on the meadows, within 15 years it will flood".  Against x 2                                             
                                                                                                                                     

This young woman, like the rest of the public that attended the CE consultation
had much to write in relation to the proposed housing development

6) Roger said "This is a slick PR job, I don't think they've done sufficient research on traffic impact, 200 houses will increase traffic".Against


7) A woman who wished to remain anonymous said "This is all PR but the council will be left with the fall out of increased traffic and a lack of infrastructure, there's talk to make Whitecliff Mill Street 2 way, something has to be done to ease the traffic, what kind of town do people want? and why did the Crown Estate have a secret meeting with the council? and why wasn't the mayor invited?". Undecided


8) Bryan said "I'm concerned that if new housing's built at the Crown Meadows, insurance will go up because it's a flood plain, building 200 houses will increase traffic by about 300 cars and the houses already near that land will see a decrease in what they're worth and how much will these new houses cost? as it will determine what sort of people live there". Against

It's important to see what the Crown Estate have to say
about the proposed development with an open mind just like this man

9) Jonathon said "There's room for more housing, particularly if they put a row or two of nice 3-4 bedroom houses, with gardens continuing along Deer Park Road but they should only build about 20 - 30 houses and I think the reason most people are against this is because of the density, if there were only 20 or 30 there wouldn't be such a strong reaction. Though I don't think any more houses should be built until other things in Blandford are improved, Blandford keeps building houses without changing anything else, so lots of people move here but travel elsewhere for work, exacerbating traffic flow. Any new development needs to incorporate easy access without creating further problems and there needs to be the right sort of employment not just factories and shops. If this development does go ahead, the housing has to fit with the town because of the historic landscape and there's the grade 2 listed defenses to think about too". Partially For


10) Tim speaking in a personal capacity said "I'm not convinced that it's the best place due to access" furthermore Tim told TBB that if needs be he will use his public position to affect positive change wherever possible especially for the betterment of Blandford. Against   


What do you think about the proposed Crown Estate development on the Crown Meadow/Bryanston Park land?  You are more than welcome to leave a comment on this site, just click the "comments" in the red box below this post to have your say