WE DISAGREE

Comments: Throop, Muscliff, Strouden, Townsend and Holdenhurst Area Forum

We are totally opposed to the use of this site.

At the Forum meeting, held on 2nd October, which was attended by 200 Residents, Councillors from Throop and Muscliff and Strouden Wards and Tobias Ellwood M.P., concern was expressed at the adverse effect this development will have on our Forum area

This site lies in the flood plain of the River Stour, upstream of Muscliff, Throop and Holdenhurst.

Throop and Holdenhurst are Conservation Areas and Holdenhurst Village also lies in the marked floodplain of the River Stour. The Village was flooded in 1989, after which a partial flood barrier was built, but a recent flood risk assessment has shown the barrier could be overtopped in extreme flood.

The proposed site area was flooded last year (photographs supplied by Councillor Whittaker, Throop and Muscliff Ward are available if required) and any working would require barriers which would reduce the area of natural drainage and increase the flow and volume past Muscliff and Throop and around Holdenhurst, where the river is also affected by tides from Christchurch.

Our Chairman attended an exhibition and was advised that “inert waste” to infill the site would mainly be clay and chalk. To remove porous sand and gravel and replace it with such material would also reduce drainage of the water meadow and will endanger homes in the Forum area.

We object to the destruction of green space, woodland and mature oaks, hedgerows, wildlife and the ecology in this area. This site will be a scene of ugly devastation for many years and can never be restored to its present green infrastructure as the water meadows will be gone forever. Forum Members in Muscliff, overlooking the site will have their view blighted and their peace shattered, destroying their quality of life and the value of their homes. It will ruin the setting and the ambiance of the Stour Valley Way, which is much used by Forum Members, disturb threatened wildlife species such as water vole, otter and bats and remove land which is important for Heathland Mitigation.

We object to the destruction of good quality farm land on this site, when it is becoming increasingly important to reduce the carbon footprint of food by buying locally produced goods.

Parley Lane (A3073) and Parley Cross are over capacity and extremely congested at many times of the day, with long queues in both directions, causing severe inconvenience to any Forum Members who work at the airport, or travel to/from Wimborne and Ferndown and the A338 and farm vehicles accessing land to the north of the Stour. In the absence of a new east/west corridor to the A338, to add up to 150 extra movements a day on this road would exacerbate this already difficult situation.

The Stour Valley has been settled for many hundreds of years and it is probable that there may be ancient sites of archaeological interest and burial sites within the proposed excavation area.

Contact Details:-

Name: Throop Muscliff Strouden Townsend and Holdenhurst Area Forum
Chairman: L Deller
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Telephone: 01202 241307

Site Reference: MSAD AS11
Site Name: Parley Court Phase 3, West Parley