Moorgreen Hospital
Moorgreen Hospital forms part of the local plan in several ways, due to housing considerations, jobs and health provision. Planning permission has been granted for 121 houses (App No. F/15/77247), however the West Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have assured me that the rest of the site will be reserved for Health use.
This already has implications on the local economy, because a sizeable piece of land is now residential and lost forever to job provision and additionally and more importantly lost to health provision also.
Site Layout
I cannot display a copy of the site plan here because it is copyright material, but it is available on-
Planning permission has been granted for 121 houses on the Moorgreen Hospital site
Off-
The planning authority only has direct powers over the site for which the planning application has been submitted, but there is a legal instrument giving the Highways authority power to enter into a financial negotiation relating to external highways work occurring as a result of the development. This is known as a Section 106 agreement.
Section 106 Agreements then are binding legal agreements with Developers and landowners made under Section 106 of the Town and County Planning Act 1990 and are used to regulate developments where the use of a planning condition would not be appropriate, such as where highway works are required on land which is outside the planning application site and outside the Developer’s control. In such cases, the grant of planning permission is made subject to the Developer first entering into this voluntary agreement. They may cover a number of matters, such as landscaping, phasing of development, etc., as well as highway works. The Planning Authority will always be a party to such Agreements and it is normal for the Highway Authority to be a party to the Section 106 Agreement where highway works are covered by it.
Reading through the Section 106 documentation there is discussion of the following external infrastructure works that have been negotiated;-
- Botley Road footway/cycleway widening to 3.5m (site frontage)
- Implementation of missing footway along Moorgreen Road to pinch point opposite Old School Road
- Bus shelter with Real Time Information
Plus a financial contribution of to be spent flexibly upon the schemes listed below;
- Improvement works at the Double-
Mini roundabout - Accessibility improvements between the site and West End High Street, including Cycle Route Phase 3
- Improved pedestrian facilities between the site and local schools
- Travel planning measures at St James Primary School of Section 278 Developer works
The Section 278 works (of the Highways Act 1980) I have just mentioned is one of a number of other statutory provisions under which Developers and the Highway Authority can enter into agreements for the carrying out of highway works related to new development. They also include Section 33 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. The appropriate provisions may depend upon the circumstances of the case, however, where only highway matters are involved such agreements may be more appropriate and be completed more quickly as there is one less party to consult