A development of 300 homes at Hoe Lane and Sylvian Drive in North Baddesley has been given the final approval by Test Valley Borough Council. The council’s Southern Area Planning Committee have unanimously approved the Reserved Matters Planning Application submitted by Ashfield Partnership which means construction may begin early next year but no exact date has been given. As well as a few hundred homes, workspace, allotment gardens and a children’s play area are in the designs. This final approval phase marks the completion of a planning journey dating back almost five years, after controversy and objections from residents and councillors, mainly because of an expected increased flow of traffic and access issues along the single track lane.
ARE they just urban myths or could there really be creatures as exotic as black panthers and pumas roaming our countryside? Some say it’s nonsense but reported sightings of big cats in Hampshire have been high for many years. Hundreds of reports vary from a black panther-like creatures on school grounds to a beast that looked like a snow leopard in Netley. Here are a few from the archives – could they still be out there? Fears of big cats stalking the New Forest were sparked after a dog walker spotted a panther-like creature at Marchwood. Sharon St John was in a field next to the Saints training ground in Staplewood Lane when she caught sight of a jet black cat prowling close to the edge of woodland.
ARE they just urban myths or could there really be creatures as exotic as black panthers and pumas roaming our countryside? Some say it’s nonsense but reported sightings of big cats in Hampshire have been high for many years. Hundreds of reports vary from a black panther-like creatures on school grounds to a beast that looked like a snow leopard in Netley. Here are a few from the archives – could they still be out there?
New Forest – August 18, 1999 Fears of big cats stalking the New Forest were sparked after a dog walker spotted a panther-like creature at Marchwood. Sharon St John was in a field next to the Saints training ground in Staplewood Lane when she caught sight of a jet black cat prowling close to the edge of woodland.
North Baddesley library fundraising book stall. Photo by Debbie Evenhand From footballers to local councillors and volunteers, the community has rallied to prevent permanent closure of the library in North Baddesley. The library was left with no technology to operate after Hampshire County Council took back their property but with the help of MP, Caroline Nokes, Test Valley Cllr, Alan Dowden and a transition grant from County Council, the library is back open. The funding paid for two new laptops, Wi-Fi connection, a reception desk with a plastic screen for social distancing and many other essential items now the library has a non-digital borrowing system.