Saveneathamdown.org has worked tirelessly to raise awareness and campaign against the continued overdevelopment of Alton. Being outside the South Downs National Park - EHDC see Alton as the building site for the area putting HUGE pressures on an already stretched town.

The public consultation was just the first step in a very long process. It now seems clear that a number of East Hampshire District Councillors are determined to go ahead with dumping most of their areas housing on Alton, in spite of the public outcry. (Thank you for that!) The next step is to engage a team of professionals -- planning consultants and a legal team -- to fight the over-development of Alton through the next phases of the planning process. To that end, we are looking for donations. Please consider giving what you can. The battle to save Alton is a battle we can, and should, win. But we need to fight!

We fully understand financially it is difficult for many people at the moment but if you are able to donate it would be very much appreciated. Thank you, 100% of the money will go towards paying for the support we need to ensure this destruction of greenfield sites stops.

If there are any funds left at the end of the process these will be donated to local charities

=========

East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) are proposing to build a minimum of 1000 houses at Neatham Down, just outside of Alton – more likely 1,250 homes. This area is a huge tract (240 acres) of completely unspoilt farmland. It is an incredibly beautiful area, with rich biodiversity and much wildlife.

1,200 houses will mean an estimated extra 3,000 people in Alton, with an extra 2,500 cars. The site is split off from Alton by the A31 and has no infrastructure at present. The EHDC plan says that people will walk / cycle into Alton from the site, but given that it is approximately 2 miles from the centre of town, this will not happen – people will drive. The roads in Alton are already gridlocked much of the time with relentless road closures and diversions. At present the B3004 is currently closed for 9 months to provide infrastructure for the Bordon housing developments. If the Neatham Down project goes ahead, development will be ongoing there over a further 10-15 years, which will mean continuing major disruption through that period. It is also highly likely that this site will be extended on an ongoing basis beyond this initial proposal and so construction, and destruction of beautiful countryside could well continue for decades.

Healthcare is Alton is already ridiculously oversubscribed – The Wilson Practice was 2,500 over numbers at the end of 2022, so with an extra 3000 people, getting a GPs appointment will be even more difficult than it currently is. Schools and dentists are full and there is a lack of employment to support an increase in population of this size. Put simply, Alton does not have the infrastructure to support this number of new homes – anywhere – let alone on this unspoilt, precious area of natural beauty.

If you have had enough of the ongoing disruption to Alton of existing construction projects and lack of investment in infrastructure, the please donate so we can continue the fight. EHDC need to push back against the numbers allocated to them and be clear that the people of Alton simply cannot be subjected to this relentless overdevelopment and disruption.

We seek to unite people in this aim and would say to those that are fighting their own battles about development in and around Alton (of which there are many) that supporting the Neatham development will not save your own site as these are separate plans which are not connected. We need to come together as a whole town to support each other in our campaigns and to clearly send the message that we say a clear NO TO ALL CONTINUING OVERDEVELOPMENT OF ALTON.