A REDUNDANT petrol station Bishop s Waltham can be converted into a had car wash, planners have decided. Mr F Sinani wanted retrospective approval for the change at the former Esso station on Winchester Road, which closed in around 2015. There were 29 objections and one, John Williams spoke at the city council planning committee last Tuesday. He said it would have a negative impact on the character and appearance of the area. Josie Wood, of Bishop s Waltham Parish Council said there had been a petrol station on the site since at least the 1960s but its appearance has deteriorated. This site is an industrial eyesore within in the conservation area. I ask that conditions are attached that the site is improved, suggesting planting and improved fencing.
A LARGE new store can be built in the South Downs National Park despite local objections. George Rees wants to build a third building next to two stores that were previously grain stores, off Stakes Lane, near Upham. Objectors said it was out of keeping with the national park and had no need to be in the countryside. There were 35 objections and four letters of support, the city council planning committee was told. Objectors Libby Cleaver, of Ashton Close, Bishop s Waltham, told the committee last Thursday: It is a disproportionate expansion of existing premises to the detriment of the landscape character. This activity does not need a rural location. It does not support farm diversification. There are noire sustainable sites for storage and distribution than such a sensitive location .