Lib Dems in Wickham fight to save green fields

8.45.23pm GMT Sun 14th Mar 2010

Liz Leffman, Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Meon Valley, and Winchester City Councillors Therese Evans and Angela Clear, are actively campaigning to keep the rural areas around Wickham and Knowle free from the large urban development planned by Fareham Borough Council.

An eco-town of 7,000 is being considered for building on the site of the Strategic Development Area north of Fareham. Previous plans show that a total of 10,000 houses are likely to be built there.

At the Local Development Framework committee meeting at Winchester City Council on Friday March 12th, Cllr Evans reiterated the importance of ensuring that no development spills over from Fareham into the Winchester area, and that the green fields around Knowle are kept that way.

"It is vital that the green fields bordering on Knowle and Wickham remain as countryside " said Therese Evans. "We local councillors are fighting hard to ensure that Wickham and Knowle do not become part of an urban sprawl."

"Although this is intended to be a zero-carbon community, 7,000 houses will mean at least 7,000 more cars on the roads in the area" said Liz Leffman. "This proposed development will have a serious impact on the local infrastructure and road network, and will inevitably mean more traffic on the already congested A334 running through Wickham."

Liz Leffman is already campaigning to keep lorries off the A334 and the B2177. She recently took her campaign to "Stop the Sprawl" in the area round Durley and Curdridge to 10 Downing Street.