Who are we?

We are 3 individual groups of residents from Warsash and the Western Wards, Portchester and Stubbington in Hampshire who care about the local environment in the Solent and want to stop further ecological damage from mass development in the area. Fareham Borough Council wish to develop between 12,000 and 16,000 in the borough. 

Our case

The marine waters around the Solent are in a poor state partially due to the impact of Nitrates from decades of agricultural fertilisation. However, since January 2019 all residential development has paused  due to the impact on the protected areas in the Solent. This is a highly complex and unproven topic, and Natural England have created 'guidance advice' for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) and developers. Inputs to the calculation include previous land use, future land use, occupancy rates, water consumption and local water treatment to name a few.  

It is our belief that the LPA are not applying these guidelines correctly thus increasing the probability of having incorrect Nitrate calculations which will add further harmful inputs to the Solent  protected areas (RAMSAR, SPAs and SACs). 

Our objective is to challenge the LPA in the High Court to test the process for planning application P/18/0884.  The pre-application protocol was issued on the 4th September 2020. Also see Facebook page 'Save Warsash and the Western Wards'.

We aim to raise £6,000 for the engaged QC, Barrister and Solicitor from the highly respected Francis Taylor Building Chambers.

What are we trying to achieve? 

We wish to take a landmark case to the courts to challenge the principles that these planning applications are based on.  

What is the next step in the case? 

The next step (now that the pre-application protocol letter has been issued) is to issue proceedings against the LPA and we are on a very tight deadline (18th September) as the 6 week clock started ticking when the planning permission was issued 11th August.  

How much we are raising and why? -

The estimated costs for legal fees are £50,000 and we aim to raise 50% locally and 50% nationally through this site.

We welcome your support and if you have any questions we will answer them as soon as we can.