PYESTOCK HORROR

How Big does a 1,250,000 sq ft Shed look?

We thought you would like an idea of what a gargantuan 1,250,000 sq ft hideous Shed looks like, but we could not find any! So, instead have a look at this:

a gargantuan mega shed

Look at the Shed size relative to the HGVs and cars! This mega shed used approximately 44,000 tonnes of concrete and over 900 tonnes of steel fibres!

Now consider that the ~~Hartland Park~~ Heartless Park 1,250,000 sq ft Shed would be over 1.5 times larger!! and there will be 4 other warehouses! several of the existing buildings will remain (including an aerospace noise test facility).

The developer’s other advertised option is for two mega sheds:

One would be 125% of the area of Amazon’s distribution centre (the largest e-commerce distribution centre in Europe)!
Another would be 75% of the area of Amazon’s distribution centre
And there would be 5 other warehouses in addition to several retained buildings (including an aerospace noise test facility)
We believe the same issues already outlined will apply to this option as well

Amazon's mega shed

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE AGENT OF THE ‘STRAIGHT TALKING’ PRUDENTIAL (THE PYESTOCK NORTH LAND OWNER) AND THEIR PARTNER ASTRAL DEVELOPMENTS DENIES CONSIDERING A MASSIVE SINGLE BUILDING!

Sparks fly as an agent’s spokesman for the ‘straight talking’ Prudential (Michael Sparks Ass.) said in an interview with Stephen Lloyd published in 31 March’s Fleet News: “We have never considered a single building of that size on that site.”

This is somewhat surprising as we have material proof that as early as 2004 articles appeared in the Trade Press (watch out for forthcoming announcements on this website), confirming the option of a massive single unit of 1,250,000 square feet at the Pyestock site.

Despite the denial, we have documentation from the developer’s main website www.hartlandpark.co.uk advertising an opportunity for a single unit of 1,250,000 square feet. The website mysteriously stopped working just before the BBC TV coverage on 24 March…

If you are quick then you can also see the 1,250,000 square feet single unit ‘opportunity’ being actively promoted, but hurry as the remaining websites may also mysteriously go ‘off air’ soon…

The Hartland Park Brochure (takes a while to load, but worth the wait)

"A unit of 1,250,000 sq ft could be accommodated"

In a recent article in The Guardian, this type of gargantuan warehouse was described as “a six-storey tall warehouse with a floor area of at least 1M sq ft” “the biggest single building ever constructed in Europe”. Read the full article below:

Gargantuan warehouses

"Large-scale warehousing can devastate tranquillity, add to congestion and increase greenhouse gas emissions"

So perhaps we should remind Michael Sparks Associates, as they seem to have forgotten, that their own logo is on Site Layout Plan Option 3 (March 2005)! The drawing is for 5 warehouses, the largest of which is 1,229,647 square feet (the developer refers to this as the single 1,250,000 square feet unit). Here it is for all to see:

click here – this pdf file takes a while to load, but well worth the wait

The ‘straight talking’ Prudential should have a straight talk with their agent (Michael Sparks Associates)! Then can the Pru add the straight talk as a video clip on your website. This could be clip Straight Talking 7:

Parkinson – sponsored by the Prudential

The only other remark made by the spokesman “There is only one application before the council at the moment”. We count two current applications (05/00238/MAJOR and 05/00242/MAJOR).

Although 05/00238/MAJOR online case file has many details, the developer requested the application to be for outline planning, with all matters other than access reserved for consideration at a later date.

"FLEXIBLE BUILDING SIZES"

If outline planning consent is given then this would allow an opportunity for the 1,250,000 square feet warehouse to appear at the next stage! There is no mention of this size of warehouse in either of the current applications – we wonder why!

Bear in mind that the existing application details refer to two massive warehouses of 620,000 sq ft+ and 380,000 sq ft as well as 5 other warehouses (which is in addition to several existing buildings including an engine test facility).

Our offer is to the ‘straight talking’ Prudential – please talk straight and tell us is there an option to build a single warehouse unit of 1,250,000 square feet at Pyestock? Will your website start working again shortly?

[Click to read the full Fleet News Article]

Our two local MPs and a MEP object to the Pyestock Horror

We are pleased to report that Gerald Howarth MP, James Arbuthnot MP and Caroline Lucas MEP have all formally objected to this massive development

Gerald Howarth MP for the Aldershot constituency (includes Farnborough) strongly supports the objections raised by Rushmoor Borough Council and urges Hart Council to oppose the massive development. The Shadow Defence Minister's letter outlines:

* The proposed development represents a substantial threat to the strategic gap between Fleet and Farnborough

* The scale of the proposed development vastly exceeds the nature of the previous National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE)

* Employees will need to access and exit the site exacerbating what is already, at peak hours, a very congested area

* The movement of so many HGVs at night will undoubtedly impact on the quality of life of constituents living to the east of the Minley Link Road

We are grateful for Gerald Howarth's support.

click this link for the full letter of objection (pdf file)

The Right Honourable James Arbuthnot MP for Hart has formally objected to the Pyestock development!! Hart's MP has joined the growing amount of concerned people, with a letter of objection issued to Hart District Council. The letter outlines:

Large number of constituents who have raised their concerns with James
James share their concerns
The strategic gap between Farnborough and Fleet should remain
The surrounding roads are unsuited for a dramatic increase in traffic
The predicted large number of lorry movements will destroy our environment
Residents should not be subjected to such intolerable disturbance at all times of the day and night
The existing infrastructure in our area is inadequate to support the level of proposed development
There would be a serious strain on the already stretched transport infrastructure
The water resources would be critically depleted
The protection of wildlife should be a serious consideration within Special Protection Areas

We totally support James's position and look forward to the increased awareness this will bring - updates to follow shortly on further developments! -

click this link for the full letter of objection. (pdf file)

We can also confirm that Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for the South East of England has formally objected!! Her concerns are:-

The proposed warehouse/distribution hub will be very obtrusive
This will be further impacted by the number of trees expected to be felled
The proposed amount of HGVs and commuting traffic, which is surrounded by single carriageway roads
The significant impact on air pollution and noise levels in the area
The anticipated increase in noise at night causing the most disturbance and during the lengthy construction phase
The lack of notice given to residents in neighbouring Rushmoor
Hart and Rushmoor should be working together in the interests of their residents
What can we say, another excellent objection, thank you Caroline, and we look forward to your ongoing support -

click this link for the full email objection.

Lib Dem President visits the Pyestock Horror Site!

Liberal Democrat President Simon Hughes was taken by Sue Fisher (Pondtail Councillor) to the Pyestock Horror site on his recent whistle stop visit.

Simon is pictured with Lib Dem colleagues beside the ~~Heartless Park~~ Hartland Park board which clearly shows the now notorious words “Flexible Building Sizes”- which we recently discovered could reflect a single warehouse option for one of the largest buildings in Europe!

In photo, left to right: Simon Hughes, Rushmoor Cllr Sue Gadsby from Cove , Rod Fisher (candidate for Pondtail) Chris Griffin (planning expert & candidate for Fleet West), Mariken van Dolen (candidate for Fleet North) and County Cllr Adrian Collett whose division covers Pyestock North together with Pondtail Cllr Sue Fisher.

Sue has seen the developer’s option for a 1,250,000 square feet single unit in their brochure (see the “Sparks denial” ) and on their website (it mysteriously stopped working, just before the BBC news coverage). Sue says “I am so glad that local people are now taking this issue very seriously and I wanted my Liberal Democrat colleagues to see the site for themselves. I am also highly impressed by the level of expertise being brought by the residents to this campaign”.

“We must insist on a more rigorous Traffic Impact Assessment being carried out. Noise and air pollution and other environmental concerns must also be fully and vigorously addressed when this matter is finally decided.”

We must not allow developers to ruin our area nor our quality of life.

We will cover in later articles Lib Dem concerns raised by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay and Vince Cable, the Shadow Chancellor and Deputy Leader regarding the recent QinetiQ flotation. The concerns include the sale of Pyestock North (now dubbed the Pyestock Horror), which reflected in the majority of QinetiQ’s profit during Half Year 2005 (the lead up to the flotation)!