Portchester Labour Party has welcomed the Development at Trafalgar Wharf

Portchester Branch of Fareham Labour Party welcomes the newly approved plan at Trafalgar Wharf although we are concerned that the 10 story block of flats included in the development will adversely affect the beautiful view of Portchester Castle.

The Branch’s view is that the plan for 162 properties and new commercial space will help revitalise the local economy including Porchester Shopping Centre. Branch Chairman, Richard Ryan, says “although we are disappointed about the flats we cannot ignore the real economic benefits this development will have in Paulsgrove and Portchester”.

Portchester Labour Party will not oppose Lidl planning application

Portchester Branch Labour Party has said it will not oppose the planning application by the budget supermarket chain Lidl to build a store on the old pinewood store site, Castle Trading Estate.

We considered some concerns raised about the affect the plan would have on Portchester’s shopping centre. Fears have been expressed that Lidl would take trade from existing shops within the centre making it less viable. However it would help consumers by increasing competition, especially as there is currently only one supermarket in Portchester. On balance we think the store should go ahead.

We believe the store would prove popular with local people and as the site has already been used for retail sales, if planning permission is denied by the council, it is likely that the decision would be overturned on appeal.

 

Labour Welcomes 500 New Council Homes

Fareham Labour Party has welcomed the initiative by Fareham Borough Council to build 500 council homes.

Labour spokesperson Richard Ryan said “We welcome this move to build much needed housing for residents of Fareham who are finding it increasingly difficult to rent or buy housing in the borough.

We regret the attitude of the Liberal democrats who seem to be welcoming this new plan as a means of opposing the new development at Welborne.  We believe the Lib Dem’s view is too parochial. Houses are needed all over the South East of England, and if all communities adopted this NIMBY Liberal Democrat approach the housing shortage will never be resolved.

House prices are on the rise again and people in their 20s and 30s, even on above average earnings are unable to find a big enough deposit or to get a mortgage. The government’s Help to Buy scheme may assist with the deposit but it is causing another housing bubble and is only a temporary and partial fix. Interest rates will rise in the not too distant future exacerbating the problem even further. Only increasing the housing supply will provide a long term solution.”

Labour Says No Development on Portchester Shopping Centre Car Park

Portchester Branch Labour Party has demanded no development on the Portchester shopping centre car park.

Portchester Precinct Car Park
Portchester Precinct Car Park

The car park has been designated as an area which could be developed for retail purposes under Fareham Borough Council’s proposed new town plan. Only a few years ago local residents fought off attempts to introduce car parking charges and the prospect of a supermarket being built on the car park.

Now we see the danger again of development on this very important parking area. The car park is always well used and any reduction would harm shops within the centre and increase on street parking nearby.

In a submission to Fareham Council Labour said

  • The extension of the Portchester district centre boundary will create development pressure on the existing car park.
  • The plan should stipulate no loss of parking.
  • Any more loss of parking would harm the district centre.
  • The impact of any removal of parking would seriously harm the viability of the centre.
  • The plan does not identify what size or form any development will be accepted.
  • The plan should explicitly exclude any major development. (1000m sq +)
  • The district boundary should not be extended. It is already extensive enough for any substantial new retail development.

 

You’re £1,600 a year worse off under David Cameron

The Tories Cost of Living Bombshell
The Tories Cost of Living Bombshell

Residents across Fareham will be worse off as a consequence of the actions taken by David Cameron and his coalition government.

We believe that it’s time for a change. Only Labour will deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

 

Ed Miliband will:

* On Bills – Freeze gas and electricity prices until 2017 and reforming the broken energy market.
* On Homes – Get at least 200,000 houses built a year
* On Families – Providing 25 hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds with working parents, paid for by increasing the levy on the banks.
* On Wages – Strengthen the minimum wage to make work pay
* On Jobs – Get young people into work with a compulsory jobs guarantee,
paid for by a tax on bank bonuses.

Kerry a working mum says:

“Ed Miliband’s plan would make it easier for families like mine. Freezing energy bills would be a big help when things are so tight at the moment.”

CALL ON DAVID CAMERON TO FREEZE ENERGY BILLS AT freezethatbill.com

Fareham Labour welcomes investment in local economy

Fareham Labour Party welcomes the money being made available to help the greater Portsmouth area after the closure of shipbuilding in the Naval Base. Commitments are:

  • £7m for an enterprise zone,
  • £5m for marine research.
  • Bid launched for EU cash.

The key questions are; is this all new money or is some or all ‘re-cycled’?

£7m is to be allocated to the southern end of the old Daedalus site in Gosport but this is only for road improvements. It is said that around 250 jobs could be created soon with up to 3500 in the next 10 years.

The £5m is for companies to bid for funds to make shipping more environmentally friendly. But no firm commitments or job guarantees.

Finally a bid for Portsmouth & Gosport to become a European Union Assisted Area Status is being applied for. If granted this could give the area another boost to the economy. The irony here is of course that we see Conservative Councillors and MPs falling over themselves bidding for assistance from the EU whilst trashing the organisation at every opportunity.

Although we do support any initiative which helps employment in the area there seems to be no actions which will help those about to lose their jobs in the Naval Base. Local MPs and councillors should be fighting hard to keep as many jobs as possible in the Naval Base.

Labour welcomes changes to Western Way

Western-Way-Bus-LaneAfter intense pressure from residents and local groups including the Labour Party Hampshire County Council is to bring in a new £1m road redesign in Western Way.

Labour welcomes this move and says ‘better late than never.’ Ever since the bus bus lane for the Eclipse bus route to Gosport was introduced there has been massive congestion through Fareham. The bus lane removed one traffic lane in Western Way which meant traffic stacking back towards junction 11 of the M27.

A bus gate will be constructed at the junction of Western Way and Western Road and the bus lane will be altered on the approach to the station roundabout. An extra bus lane will be constructed which will free up an extra lane for all traffic.

Labour says ‘This shows what can be done if enough people and organisations join together to campaign for improvements.’

 

Labour condemns lost opportunity for return to weekly bin collections

Fareham Labour Party has condemned as a ‘lost opportunity’ the Tory controlled council’s decision not to return to weekly rubbish bin collections in the borough.  At a recent Streetscene Review Panel Conservative Councillors refused to reintroduce weekly collections.

Following this decision residents will still have to put up with fortnightly collections. This will inflict on households continued smelly bins and a potential health risk during the summer.

Labour is on record as opposing fortnightly collections. we will continue to campaign for weekly collections. This will remain one of our key policies on the run up to the local elections in May.

Fareham Labour concerns over BAE Systems announcement regarding shipbuilding in Portsmouth

Fareham Labour is hugely disappointed by the announcement from BAE Systems.

The loss of 1100 highly skilled jobs (including staff and contractors) is a huge blow for the Southern Hampshire economy. Inevitably, there will be further related job losses in companies connected with the dockyard which depend on the shipbuilding work.

The impact of this unwelcome news from BAE Systems will have an impact throughout the whole of the Southern Hampshire coastal area – a large number of residents of Fareham are employed in the dockyard with many former employees of Vosper Thorneycroft at Woolston currently making the daily commute.

Our thoughts are with employees and their families as the 500 year tradition of shipbuilding in Portsmouth comes to an end. The skilled jobs being lost today will be extremely difficult to replace, following as it does the closure of manufacturing jobs at the Ford plant in Southampton. Labour worked hard to secure shipbuilding in the south of England, whilst this coalition government has done nothing to prevent the job losses announced.

Labour Oppose Housing Development off Peak Lane

Fareham Labour Party is opposed to the proposal for a new housing development off Peak Lane by Hallam Land Management.

Labour says “This proposal to build 1550 houses on green fields off Peak Lane ‘fly in the face’ of the long established policy of keeping the strategic gap between Fareham Town and Stubbington. Residents in the area are obviously really concerned about the impact of this huge development which would take away a large part of our ever decreasing green space in Fareham.”.

Fareham Labour Party is on record as opposing house building south of Longfield Avenue, and we continue to hold that position. Indeed just recently we have proposed an alternative route for the Stubbington by-pass which includes protection against building in this area.

It is important to preserve the green space around Oxleys Coppice. Longfield Avenue, Rowan Way and the surrounding roads already suffer from significant congestion at peak periods and this would only be exacerbated by a development on the scale proposed by Hallam Land Management. This proposal is not welcomed by the local residents and is not the right answer to addressing the housing needs in Fareham Borough.

Labour will oppose this or any other planning application to build off Peak Lane. We believe that any major new house building should be kept to Fareham’s ‘new community’ of Wellborne, which is the very reason we supported it’s creation.