Curbridge Preservation Society

Working to Protect Our Natural and Built Environment
Yew Tree Drive

Above image links to HCC Saturn site

Council holds to a Pledge…

There has been a pledge, and planning constraints, not to open access to general traffic onto the A3051 until Whiteley Way is completed, for a reason; however it appears that the two issues are interlinked…as the Whiteley Way will now not be a by-pass but a residential road with housing along its length…and people who chose to live in a cul-de-sac appear to want to have a second access from the main residential area of Whiteley...

Following an email sent to the North of Whiteley Forum via WCC an email was received, by CPS, from Councillor Seán Woodward, Leader FBC that stated the following:

'…As far as Yew Tree Drive is concerned there is no proposal from the local planning authority (Fareham Borough Council) to open it to all vehicles however as Fareham's local plan has now expired it was important I felt to carry out a consultation exercise before reaching a view on the continuation of the policy which you quoted from my 2006 newsletter, InTouch/Whiteley Matters.  I ensured that the residents of Burridge, Swanwick and Park Gate were also consulted as well as Whiteley (Fareham) residents'

Curbridge residents are heartened to hear this good news from Fareham Council, who have responsibility for the area of its location and that the policy of no premature opening of Yew Tree Drive is not proposed for change. But we are slightly annoyed that WCC, as consulting partners, did not think to include Curbridge in the survey.

However we will continue to draw attention to the reasons for our concerns over future attempts for premature opening. This seems to be championed by Whiteley Parish Council as its raison d'être, and we are particularly concerned about the 5,000 vacant potential employment places that the Saturn modelling did not take account of and the extra 10,000 plus daily traffic movements that would account for. That is, should Whiteley Business Park ever achieve 100% occupancy at its current size.

Yew Tree Drive - Whiteley Parish Council (and now [23/7/2010] WCC too) New Attempts to Open it up.

There is an on-going push sponsored by Whiteley Parish Council to have Yew Tree Drive opened up – permanently. This will have a significant impact on traffic levels on the A3051 especially if you take into consideration a potential 3000 extra homes, many of which will be finished before the Whiteley Way is and according to WCC's own report with the new development the area's traffic around Whiteley becomes totally unsustainable even with the Whiteley Way.

 

We already have queues back to the pub, a distance of a mile, when there is even the slightest traffic incident in the area, are we to expect permanent queues in the hamlet in the mornings and a life blighted by speeders at all other times?

There was a Whiteley Parish Council Residents’ Questionnaire 2008 A summary of the results:-‘During May 2008 a survey was sent to 2811 households in the Postal Address File for Whiteley. 1002 completed surveys were returned providing an overall response rate of 37%.  - Of these only 6% were in favour of Yew Tree Drive solely being opened up. Rather a minority 6% of 37% that could be bothered to answer...which equates to 2.22%....

Letter 13 February 2008 Whiteley PC to WCC ref: WCC LDF Core Strategy Issues and Options 'Given that the present Whiteley population has suffered from the failure to deliver key facilities and reduce road congestion, this support is on the strict understanding that the present deficiencies including schools, sports pitches and access roads are fully satisfied prior to, or early in, the new development. It is particularly disappointing that two distributor roads outwith the boundary of the City Council remain closed to all traffic, and consequently daily vehicle movements of around 5000 are placing an unacceptable burden on a local residential road and the people who live there.'

Perhaps Whiteley Parish Council should have waited for and read the Traffic Report for the North of Whiteley Development before they so readily supported the development....