Proximity to Air
Safety Zone places residents of new buildings at risk.
Threat
to Listed Buildings
The Planning (Listed Building and
Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c.9) section 66(1)
States: In
considering whether to grant planning permission for development which
affects a listed building or its setting, the local authority or, as
the case may be the Secretary of State shall have special regard to the
desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any special
features of special architectural or historic interest which it possess.
Three
grade
listed buildings will be blocked in by new, taller, buildings, removing
them from their setting as well as their historical and architectural
context.
Building
work in close proximity to grade listed buildings
will result in significant and potentially unrepairable damage to the
structures.
Approximately
331 foundation cores will need to be created through piledriving, in
order to construct these 5 story structures. This will produce an
appreciable seismic effect. Since the nearest of these piles will be
within 10 yards of the Transonic Wind Tunnel, and considering that
the wind tunnel was constructed with 'Austerity' concrete,
which
is known for possessing a higher proportion of sand filler than would
be acceptable today, thus making the material very brittle,
the
seismic percussions are liklely to destroy the structure of the
building. The
proximity and
frequency of horizontal soil vibrations to the building's natural
frequencies may generate conditions of resonance in that building,
resulting in dangerous structural settlements. Considerable data has
been collected and published with respect to intolerable vibrations and
settlements from construction and industrial sources, e.g.
Barkan (1962), Richart et al. (1970), Wiss (1981); Lacy and Gould
(1985); Massarsch (1992), Svinkin (1993); Dowding (1996) and others.,
none of which appear to have been considered in the present planning
application.
Inconveniences
to New Residents on this site
There
will be one possible exit for the residents (unless Pinehurst Avenue is
connected) which will be on the Farnborough Road, the road layout of
which indicates a left-turn only (directing the traffic
towards
the Penhurst roundabout). This will increase the traffic density on the
roundabout, especially during rush hours, potentially resulting in
gridlock.
The proposal to build residential
accommodation in
this location, combined with the plan to install a multiplex cinema on
the Kingsmead car park, will increase the traffic density on the
Penhurst and Sulzers Roundabouts even further
Two
of the wind tunnels are serviceable and it has been mooted that
these will be refurbished and leased out. This would generate
intolerable sound disturbances for the new residents.
Inconvenience
to Residents
In
spite of the good intentions of every architect and planner since the
60s, large apartment blocks have always become cultivation centres for crime
and anti-social behaviour, this estate of apartment blocks
will be no different. .
Increased
Burden on Local
Services
It
is already impossible to register with an NHS dentist in the
Farnborough area. Registering with a doctor is almost as difficult. An
accomodation site of this magnitude can not be considered without an
increase in healthcare facilities.
The present
child population
of Farnborough already exceeds the level of intake for the area's
primary schools. Additional residents can not be accommodated unless
there is a concomitant increase in educational facilities, for which,
at present, there are no such plans.
The
refuse disposal facilities at Eelmoor Road are inadequate for the
present levels of Farnborough's refuse which are processed there.
During the summer months of the last few years, decomposing
refuse
which has accumulated on site due to its inability accommodate the
increasing quantities have been a source of annoyance to the residents
of Marrowbrook Lane. An increase of 1000+ residents within the
processing area of this facility will exacerbate the problem.