The views set out in this parish Plan represent, as far as it has been possible to achieve, a broad consensus of those held by the villagers.  Authorship has been co-ordinated by a steering group with representatives from the village.  Stroud Parish Council and Stroud Area Residents Association (SARA) and every effort has been made to seek the views of other organisations active in the village as well as of individual villagers.

Parish Plans have been described by the Internet resource, Wikipedia, as ‘a form of community-led plan.  Parish Plans determine the future of communities and how they can change for the better.’

Emerging from the ‘Rural White Paper’ published by the Government in 2000, the concept was developed with help from the Countryside Agency within the ‘Vital Villages Scheme’ and increasingly integrated into the wider systems of local government by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Localism Act (2011) and most recently the National planning Policy Framework (published in 2012).  In an early review of ‘What makes a good Parish Plan?’ (Published in 2004) in the Countryside Agency concluded that they should be:  

• established in every region; and
• holistic documents.

Leading to:

• enhanced community spirit;
• improved local governance;
• tangible benefits to the Parish;
• new partnerships in the higher tier authorities;
• strategic partnerships.

This will be an on-going process that will not stop with the publication of this document.

Vital to this process is the engagement of as much of the community as possible, as well as with the local authorities within which we sit; Stroud Parish Council (SPC), East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), Hampshire County Council (HCC) and the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA).  All these bodies have been consulted in the production of this plan.  It is the intention that this Parish Plan is endorsed by all these authorities as ‘Material Consideration’, where appropriate and possible, in all future policy and planning matters.

The idea of undertaking a Parish Plan for Stroud came from the Parish Council, having see the Village Design Statement (one of the first produced in East Hampshire) reach its tenth anniversary and with overwhelming evidence that Parish plans were being encouraged as a vital tool for local communities to determine their future.

Incentivising the community to turn up to an introductory meeting at the local school in November 2010 with the offer of a free fish and chips supper with wine and a poster suggesting there might be a threat (false on this occasion) of a hundred new houses in the village, the meeting was a resounding success.  It saw the formation of a Parish Plan Committee which has guided the process for the two subsequent years it has taken to undertake the consultation needed to produce this document.

The Stroud Village Design Statement (VDS) produced in 2000 provided invaluable background information for this exercise and much of its baseline information forms the backbone of this larger study.

This original analysis still provides the foundation for the production of the updated guidance on development, aimed at protecting what we have an d maintaining the high quality of our environment.

It was disappointing that the original document, although adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance by EHDC, has not been more effective in controlling the nature of subsequent built development in Stroud and it is the intention of this document (which in part will, in due course, also replace the VDS) to be more effective in this regard as well as with it’s wider social and economic remit.  Within the next few years the VDS section from this parish Plan will be development and submitted for consideration to replace the existing one and also be adopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance for SNDPA, once their own planning policies are finished.

South Downs National Park Authority www.southdowns.gov.uk

The South Downs designation as a National Park came into effect on the 31st March 2010.  This designation is a formal recognition of the special qualities of this area in terms of its natural beauty, wildlife, cultural heritage and opportunities for recreations.  During the consultation process leading to its formation, a lot of time was spent by Stroud Parish Councillors in presentation s and arguments for Stroud being included.

In its first year of so of operations SDNPA have carried out extensive public consultation to establish the key issues and challenges facing the new park and highlighted some common issues;

• Poor provision of essential community services (including village halls and shops)
• Poor accessibility in rural areas (including public transport and Rights of Way issues)
• Negative impacts on tranquillity (including transport routes, certain recreational activities)
• Pressures for development (including pressure on infrastructure, poor quality design and siting)

These are all factors Stroud villagers have identified within their own community at one time or another.

Similarly the special qualities of the South Downs National Park and it’s vision for the future are characteristics and aspirations that this Parish Plan would be keen to support and happy to form a part, emphasising as they do the importance of the environment and the communities within it.

Hampshire County Council easthants.  www.hants.gov.uk

Hampshire County Council have specific responsibilities in terms of strategic environmental delivery, economic development, countryside issues, transport and highways and education and community.  To this end, their comments were sought following the October 2012 second draft Parish Plan and for the larger part, integrated into the third draft of this document.  HCC will be significant partners of the Action Plan at Section 5

East Hampshire District Council www.easthants.gov.uk

East Hants District Council have been traditionally the local authority body looking after Stroud’s interests but many aspects including the vital Planning authority role are gradually being taken over by the SDNPA.  However they were consulted in the second draft document and their comments have been included. 

The early 1990’s saw something of an upsurge in community cohesion in the village. Although for many decades most villagers had come from elsewhere and were working outside the village, there was fear that Stroud might become a ‘commuter dormitory’.  There was a thriving church community, village hall with regular bookings including a playschool and a Women’s Institute, well established farms, industrial units, residential care home, newly revamped pub and the primary school was emerging as one of the most successful in Hampshire.  However there was a need to do more to bring people together and determine the future of the village.

Following a public meeting in the village in 1988, called by a group of six villagers, a loose gathering of villagers formed what was later to become the Stroud Area Residents Association (SARA) in 1993.  The main campaign was to form a distinct Parish and Parish Council for Stroud, breaking away from the auspices of Petersfield Town Council so as to better represent the wishes of the smaller, rural community. With the new A3 bypass about to create a very real boundary between the two, the distinction between them was becoming more evident and the Department of Enviornment allowed the new Parish status in the autumn of 1993 and following an election in January 1994 the new Parish Council was formed three months later.

Since that time, our locally elected Councillors and part time Clerk have done much behind the scenes to ensure our interests are heard at a wider level; planning applications reviewed, footpaths, bus shelters, recreation ground and trees maintained, new initiatives supported.  In response to villagers’ foremost concerns, they have successfully campaigned for and achieved reduced speed limits along the A272, first at 40mps and then 30 mph with related traffic calming measures.  They continue to administer the local governance and set the financial precept.

SARA has continued as the catalyst for the village’s social events and with its more informal remit, been the engine of several community projects, many of these in tandem with the Parish Council and always with their support.

Yet further offshoots of both organisations have seen communities brought together for specific initiatives such as the original VDS, the new village hall proposals and most recently the production of the Parish Plan.

One way or another, the small community of Stroud has been very much alive in these last 20 years and between the regular annual social activities, including the village summer barbecues, winter quiz night, litter picks, dances, educational walks and farm visits, there has been a good list of physical and documentary outputs too.

1992:

• Tree planting and creation of a pond to the Seven Stars frontage, (seen by many as the central open space to the village), an initiative of a soon to be Stroud resident with the Pub’s owner.

1993:

• Formation of Stroud Area Residents Association. (SARA)

1994:

• Formation of the Parish Council

1996:

• Production of the Stroud handbook (issued to everyone in the Stroud area) by SARA

1997-1999:

• Local history interviews, environmental survey, fieldwork and public consultation for Local Agenda 21 Action Plan, later utilised for emerging Village Design Statement.

2000:

• Stroud Village Design Statement (VDS) published with Stroud Biodiversity Report, two years later.
• ‘Stroud in Pictures’ album
• Millennium planting: Area of woodland, hedgerow and two dozen specimen trees planted by the community (a co-ordinated, grant aided community initiative).

2001-2009:

• New Village Hall Committee (first convened in 1991) was unsuccessful with a National Lottery bid for an ambitious new build project.
• Fundraising reaches a peak with ‘Stroud Aid’ – ‘Tin Hut’ music festivals alongside the old Hall.
• Reduced proposal obtained planning in 2007 but project ‘parked’ in 2008.  Likely to be resumed in the future.
• Legacy includes village owned marquee and furniture that is available for events and rental.

2005:

• Pavements improved and publication of footpaths handbook.

2007:

• 30 mph speed limit and traffic calming measures on A272.

2009:

• Improvements and drainage to Footpath 703 (half funded by Small Grant Scheme)

2010:  

• Village Hall finally declared unfit for use and demolished.
• New village hall permission renewed (SNDP/32465/006 Aug 2010).

2010-2011:

• Reinvigoration of village events through SARA and commencement of Parish Plan consultation and survey process.
• Small grants from HCC, EHDC & SPC.
• Village website established.

2011:

• South Downs National Park Authority established (following official designation previous year).

2012:

• Parish Council establish a Parish Plan Subcommittee to assist completion of plan.
• Draft Parish Plan produced and circulated for final consultation.
• First phase recreation ground play area improvements approved for next year.

Stroud Parish is young and dates only from 1995.  This separation from Petersfield recognised the individual identity of the village, emphasised by the open spaces and the by-pass which separate the village from the town into which it was previously incorporated.  It is a community of nearly 160 households, of which about two dozen lie just outside the parish boundary.  Notwithstanding these recent developments, Stroud as a name is much older and there is evidence that people have lived here for at least 2000 years.

We know that land at Stroud was occupied in Roman times because to the immediate south west of Finchmead Lane was a substantial villa (excavated in 1906).  The villa had a courtyard enclosing about 1 1/2 acres surrounded  by various outbuildings and dwelling areas, including mosaics and a typical Roman ‘hypocaust’ central heating system.

We know very little about Stroud in the Dark Ages following the Roman Empire, but we do learn from ‘Some Aspects of Langrish Life through the Ages’ (Evelyn Hickox, 1986) that in Norman times Rothercombe was a separate Manor and that the common land, or waste, of Langrish was located between farmland of the Manors of Langrish and Mapledurham known as Stroud.  We know from early maps that a substantial eastern part of the modern parish was rough pasture common land with typical funnel shaped entrances off unfenced tracks and roads.  The farm buildings tended to be around the periphery of the open common and the eastern part of the common included the ‘pest houses’ located in a ten remote part of the countryside.

Commons were usually inferior land; wooded and wet as the name Stroud (a marsh) implies.  Stroud Common appears to have been located mainly on seasonally waterlogged and intractable clayey soils not suited more intensive agriculture.

The Lord (of the Manor) surrendered part of this waste in 1571 to John Robynet for making bricks and tiles and with time brick and tile making became the main industry in the village because of the close juxtaposition of the highly suitable clay and sand deposits.  Old clay pits  (now in filled) were located in the west of the parish either side of North Stroud Lane.  Sand pits were located in the centre of the parish and more extensively in the adjacent southern part of Steep parish.  There were extensive brick kilns located north of the A272 opposite Alpha Cottage and elsewhere.  Kiln Copse is presumed to be associated with the brick works.

From the middle 1800’s the landscape as we know it had begun to take shape, but the only dwellings in 1840 (according to a map of that date) were the Red House, Myrtle Farm, The Seven Stars public house, Rothercombe Farm and its cottages, Stroudbridge Farm, the Pest House, Ash Barn and Freshwater House.  From 1894 until 1932 Rothercombe was in the parish of Langrish (as was the whole o f present day Stroud west of the Seven Stars).  A last remnant of Stroud Common became Stroud Village Green, next to where the Village Hall stood, in about 1970.

At the turn of the 20th century and up to the Second World War, we find Stroud was an industrial community with a large extensive working claypit and a brick and tile works.  The clay was mixed in a pugmill with sand form the sand pits off Ridge Common Lane and clinker brought by horse and cart from Portsmouth.  All this was located south of the A272, although earlier brick and tile making appears to have been on the north side of the road, opposite the present garage site.

By 1930, Stroud had expanded and new housing had appeared along Winchester Road and North Stroud Lane.  Then, during the 1950’s, the claypit area was filled with urban refuse and covered over, and since 1975 the present owners have been planting trees over the area.  The largest single residential development in the village (Willowdale) took place in the 1980’s, when 15 houses were constructed, built partly on the norther extremity of the old clay workings.

During the Second World War, Stroud was ‘host’ to a number of Italian prisoners of war who were accommodated in and around the Village Hall.

The Stroud Church of England Mission Church was built in 1897 and was enabled by the Nicholson Family.  Outside the current parish boundary, it resides in the ecclesiastical parish of Steep and Stroud, holds two Holy Communion services each month and is noted for the annual Harvest Festival and Carol Services in which the children of the village are much involved.

The Village hall, erected after the First World War, clad in corrugated iron, reached the end of its useful life and was demolished in 2010. While a high quality site to the south of the school in Ramsdean Road has been made available, two attempts to secure funding from the Lottery Commission have failed.  Until adequate funding can be secured, a new village hall remains an aspiration, though the need for it is manifest.

Stroud Village Green is registered as VG31 under the Commons Registration Act and is privately owned.  The public can use it for exercise and recreation as long as rights of landowner are not affected.

Village Green

The village green was originally the last unenclosed remnant of Stroud Common which previously covered a large part of the western area of current Stroud Parish and abutted Steep Common to the north.  Documenttation indicates that it has had protected status in its current location since at least 1859.

Stroud Village Green registration was confirmed on 31st October 1975 with two different landowners.  As a general point, the owner(s) of the green may not do anything which interferes with the lawful recreational activities of the local inhabitants and it is an offence to damage, encroach upon or fence a village green.  There are no specific rights registered over this village green which is normal, therefore it may be used for exercise and recreation by the local inhabitants of the village.  The footpath re-dates the village green registration, and it is a general rule that land cannot be a highway and a common or village green at the same time – hence the footpath splitting the village green. The right on Footpath 705 is that the public can pas and re[pas son foot over the route or undertake anything reasonable incidental to doing this.

www.commonsreregistration.org.uk/downloads/HampshireDLs.doc
VG 31 Stroud Common – Petersfield No. VG.31
Guidance on commons/village green registration:
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/rural/documents/protected/common-land/cra1965-guidance.pdf

Village Hall

Stroud Village Hall was erected in the early 1920’s as a memorial to those who had served in the 1st World War, 1914-1918.  It was called ‘The Institute’ and provided a place of entertainment for the people who lived in the village.  Whist drives, dances, boxing and other activities were held there.

Shortly after the outbreak of war, the hall was commandeered by an Ack-Ack Battery and later, was used as a PO.W. camp until 1946.  When the hall was released, a local committee was formed to refurbish it an to hold events.  Sadly, in 1951 this committee decided that it could no longer manage the hall.  The newly formed W.I. offered to take over the running and they raised over £200 in the first year for a new roof.  New curtains were made and electric heating installed.  Gradually the scope of the Village Hall committee widened and for many years it was the home to the W.I., a playgroup, table tennis club and a popular venue for children’s parties.

Various activities from band practice to dog training took place there and from the early 90’s it was the meeting venue for the Parish Council and focus for SARA’s village events.  It was demolished in 2019 with no replacement.

From HCC’s 2010 projected Stroud Parish demographics (see appendix 6.1) the Parish population is calculated as 382 with a very good spread of age, divided in near equal percentages for every stage of life bar the 16-24 age group, suggesting the young leave home to go elsewhere.  A factor picked up recent Housing Needs Survey results.

Females considerably outnumber males (218 to 163) and while this is largely in the higher age ranges due to the propensity for ladies to live longer than men, it has also, by chance, occurred in the youngest age group from 0-16 (some 22% of the village) where females outnumber males (52 to 33).

Thanks to a 69% response rate to the recent Housing Needs Survey (see appendix 6.2), we have a meaningful insight into the Village’s socio-economic make-up.

Settlement originally developed in a linear fashion along through routes and, because pathways and bridleways did not converge naturally, there is no centre in terms of open space or of dominant building/s.  However, most regard the Seven Stars public house and is green as being the effective centre of the village.

The village now also comprised two clusters of dwellings separated by open fields and one light service industrial development. The larger westernmost settlement is found between and including Ramsdean Road an North Stroud Lane, and the smaller easternmost settlement is along the A272 and including Finchmead Lane.   Approximately 75 per cent of all development, including the school, is south of the A272; otherwise the parish comprises open farmland with isolated farm buildings.  The current population of the village is approximately 280 accommodated in 142 dwellings.

The rural nature of the village lives through two working farms, both with farm houses in prominent positions within the village and two smaller holdings.  In addition to these there are significant areas of stabling and paddock at the edge of the western settlement.

There is currently no affordable hosing provision in Stroud.

The village of Stroud straddles the A272 about a mile west of Petersfield and occupies a relatively small area of the total parish.  The parish sits within the South Downs National Park on the clays and sandstones within the extreme western end of the Wealden Horseshoe (an area bounded by chalk escarpments and extending from Stroud in the west to Folkestone in the east).  Stroud is therefore bounded: to the south by the north facing chalk scarp of the wester South Downs, rising to 889 feet; to the north by the southeast facing wooded scarp of the western North Downs, rising to 808 feet; and to the west by the scarp slope of the Hampshire Downs which here links the North and South Downs at the closed end of the ‘horseshoe’.

The South Downs are the major landscape feature providing a visual backdrop to the A272, Ramsdean Road and Ridge Common Lane which are through roads.  They also dominate views from Finchmead Lane, North Stroud Lane and Rothercombe Lane.

Development, which is predominantly housing, is generally seen against a backdrop and below the horizon of the Downs or mature planting.

Because of our rich landscape, seasonal colour change is the most evident and dramatic visual characteristic.

Although very different, the entrances into the village form east and west along the A272 and down Ridge Common Lane are of particular aesthetic quality.  Indeed, the panoramic view of the surrounding hills as one enters Stroud from the Petersfield direction under a setting sun have been said by many to be one of the most memorable characteristics of approaching the village.

Land use has largely determined the layout of Stroud and the landscape we see today. The factors we have come to value in the landscape; views, access, openness, enclosure, woodland, trees, wildlife, and simply our setting, have come about  for the large part, by how man has utilised the natural resources at his disposal.

The local geology and hydrology also enabled the rise of the brickworks industry in Stroud.  The main areas of settlement at the west of the village and at Ridge Common Lane relate to the brickworks both historically, with the building of workers’ cottages and, more recently, with redevelopment of part of the land vacated with the closure of the brickworks.  These areas are more enclosed by woodland and hedgerow than the areas influenced by agriculture.  Non-developed land here is often used as paddock.

Stroud is fortunate to have ancient woodland and a field system bounded by hedgerows of considerable antiquity dating back at least to the medieval period.

Furzefield Copse is one of the glories of Stroud and in spring the woodland floor is awash with the multi-coloured hues of Bluebell, Red Campion, Yellow Archangel and a host of typical English wild flowers long lost in other areas.  Kiln Copse, partly in the northwest corner of the parish is also an area of significant woodland.  The hedgerows are varied; some outgrown, some trimmed, but almost all are old and contain a wide range of shrubs including Hazel, Holly and Field Maple (woodland species), Spindle, Dogwood, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and others.  Almost all of the many hedgerow trees are Oaks but there are some Ash scattered about and other species occur in the older gardens.  Few of these trees are old, but a large veteran Oak at the north of the village green that fell since the late 1990’s local wildlife surveys is likely to have been at least 200 years old.

Stroud Village Green and some of the paddocks around the school and the Seven Stars are also rich in wild flowers and are remnants of older grasslands that have not been extensively improved for agriculture.  These flowers include Sneezewort, Ragged Robin, Greater and Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil, Pepper Saxifrage and Burnet Saxifrage.  Stroud is not rich in pongs although two have been excavated recently at New Buildings Farm and at the Seven Stars public house.  Other ponds, such as that off North Stroud Lane appear to originate from the old clay diggings,. There are garden ponds and these support frogs, toads and newts as well as insects such as dragonflies.

The triangular land behind the Jubilee bus shelter and crossed by a public footpath is officially designated as a statutory village green and although privately owned and farmed, is available for the public’s quiet recreation as long as the interests of the landowner are respected.  This is a good place to see barn owls foraging for voles over the rough grassland.

Of the large mammals, roe deer are abundant in the fields and fox is common; so too are the grass-snakes and  slow worms. We have at least one main breeding badger sett within the parish and a number of outlier setts.  Stroud enjoys a diverse bird population.  Kestrels can be seen hovering over the village green and sparrowhawks are frequent visitors taking garden birds.  Buzzards are commonly seen having bred in the locality and we have seen all three species of woodpeckers (lesser and greater spotted and green woodpeckers)  Recent visitors are red kites which can often be seen circling high over the village.  Of the reptiles, grass snakes and slowworms (a species of long legless lizard) are common.

A wildlife questionnaire handed out at a village Parish Plan meeting showed that members of our community value and are knowledgeable about the local wildlife.  Gardens were found to be rich in varied wildlife habitats and supported a large number of bird species, mammals, butterflies and other insects.

The parish has benefited considerably from the creation of many new farm hedgerows linking existing habitats (often along historic alignments0, changing farm practices including the leaving of substantial arable field margins, protection of water courses (providing for breeding lapwings) and the creation of several new ponds.  This change in farming environmental practice in the parish is seeing results in wildlife – breeding hares are back, along with nesting barn owls which we haven’t seen for a long time.

A specialist Parish Conservation Study was undertaken ten years ago, that reports on these aspects in far more details (see Stroud Local Biodiversity Report 2004) and recommendations from this are carried forward in this document’s guidelines in section 3.

Furzefield Copse

Something special

This ancient woodland, today known as Furzefield Copse, is the ecological highlight of Stroud. There is nothing else like it anywhere else in the parish.

Furzefield Copse is special. This area of woodland is old.  The outline on the 1840 Tithe map is much the same as today.  The flora suggest that it is considerably older and probably dates back to tat least 1700 and, as woodland; the site is almost certainly considerably older still.

Part of the local economy

The woodland (along with the adjacent Widow Knights Copse) will have played a key role in the economy of the local area, providing local employment and producing small timber for farm and domestic use.

Coppice

The woodland has been managed as coppice; this means that many shrubs and small trees have been regularly cut back to the base of the stem and the resulting shoots harvested for local use.  Within the coppice are standard trees of oak, some large.

Wood banks

Distinct banks occur along the eastern and western boundaries and these are typical of the boundary banks found around ancient woodlands, possibly the locations of former deer fences.

There is one internal bank running parallel to the eastern side and which is rich in large trees and shrubs.  In particular there are several large Oaks, Field Maples (not common in the bulk of the woodland), Holly, outgrown Ash coppice stems, Elder, Hawthorn and a tree resembling Crab.  The bank is also rich in Bluebell and Foxglove.

Awash with flowers

Such old coppice woodlands are rich in many species of trees, shrubs and flower herbs.  Furzefield Copse in the spring and early summer is awash with woodland flowers.  Most obvious are the re, white and blue of the Red Campion and Greater Stitchwort combined with swathes of native Bluebell.

Look a little harder and you will find the more delicate flowers of Solomon’s Seal, Herb Paris, Dog Violet, Yellow Pimpernel and Sanicle to name but a few of the many that occur here (see appended list).  We have orchids too, including Early Purple and the twin-leaved Twayblade.  Foxglove occurs locally.

The most distinctive buildings in the village are the early buildings listed above in the ‘Brief History’ section.  Particular features are; 

• Varying roof-lines.
• Up to three stories with habitable space within roofs.
• Robust porches
• Wide variety of window shapes and sizes.
• Tile hung facades

Stroud does have recent buildings (such as 44A Winchester Road and the High House) which continue the architectural heritage but rework it using contemporary solutions appropriate to current lifestyles.

Overall, there is no one style of building, constructional feature or material that dominates in the village. 

Within the clusters of buildings which characterise the village there are some interesting roofscapes and constructional details, some of which are illustrated in the sketches and watercolours which illustrate this document.

Stroud is located close to a major junction between north/south and east/west highways and is less than two miles from a railway station with regular services to London and Portsmouth.  It is served by buses, with some sevens services each weekday to and from Petersfield and points west, although none after 6:30pm.  Three buss shelters are provided in Stroud and the Parish Council maintains these to a high standard.

A well-established and well-maintained network of public footpaths radiates in all directions from the village.  It is a disappointment to villagers that the old east/west footpath from Petersfield towards Winchester was obstructed by the new by-pass in 1994.

The A272, a designated route for heavy commercial vehicles, runs through the village of Stroud.  There is a major junction with the A3 trunk road from Portsmouth to London about 3/4 mile to the east of the centre of the village.  Although there is a pavement for pedestrians on the south side of the road through the village and for the two miles into the centre of Petersfield, it is narrow in places with overhanging hedges, intimidating to pedestrians and dangerous for children.

A 30mph speed limit applies in the village, although a double-bend at the eastern entrance to the village probably has more effect on checking the speed of traffic than the speed limit itself.  Being so close to Petersfield, there is considerable interest in the village in the potential for greater use of the bicycles as an alternative to the car.  However, the heavy use of the narrow A272 by commercial vehicles acts as a major deterrent; most potential cyclists feel the road to be unsafe.

Ramsdean Road, which runs south from a point on the A272 adjacent to the Seven Stars and leads past Langrish School within Stroud, suffers congestion at the start and finish times of the school day.  This is caused by inadequate parking facilities and manoeuvring space for the large number of parents who convey their children to and from school by car.  Tailbacks also occur at the junction with the A272 at these times.  Increased commercial traffic to Ramsdean adds to this problem.

The principal transport-related problems in the village concern 

the sheer volume of traffic through the village on the A272,  (particularly the high proportion of heavy good vehicles and weekend motorbike ‘racers’_, and the excessive speed at which it travels.  The  Hampshire Constabulary regularly set up speed traps as a deterrent to speeding vehicles, but with only limited success. The Parish Council is looking into the possibility of organising a community ‘Speed Watch’ scheme, with the aim of educating and deterring speeding drivers.

The County Council’s Countryside Service has developed Countryside Access Plans which aim to encourage improved access to the countryside.  One aspiration in the South Downs plan is to improve the links into Petersfield from the west, either from Stroud or Steep.  In particular there is a desire and a need to link footpaths Stroud 708 to Stroud 703, Petersfield 44b and Buriton 36 alongside the A3 so as to enable circular routes from Stroud in an easterly direction, but also to create a link crossing the A3 to link Stroud footpath 703 to Petersfield 3.  A cycle route to Petersfield would be an ultimate aspiration.

Electricity and telephone connections are universally available.  Although the house to house distribution of electricity is mainly underground, the area distribution is by an above-ground network which does nothing to enhance the open views which are such a feature of the village.

Mains gas is not available in the village and Transco have made it clear that the only circumstances under which they would consider extending their network out from Petersfield would be if potential users in the village were to fund the full capital cost in advance.  Having done so, any new user would be able to tap into the system after five years without making any contribution to that capital cost.  Transco have no interest in taking commercial risks to expand their network.  The village is not attached to a cable network and is not aware of any plans to change this.  Similarly High Speed broadband infrastructure is not yet available in the village.

Broadband

Stroud is served by the BT Openreach network for all landline communications; both voice and data.  The network is currently a copper wire system and being the distance that  we are from the exchange in Petersfield, this means relatively slow data speeds.

A recent survey found that 80% of people thought broadband as “critically important” to home life.  That same number would be put off buying a new home if it didn’t have a good broadband connection.  In fact 57% would pay more for a property with super-fast broadband.  The only way to improve the relatively slow data speeds received in Stroud is to upgrade the network from copper to fibre optic cables.  Petersfield itself does not benefit from a fibre optic network at the moment, so it is not just as simple as extending the reach form the exchange out to the village.  Enquiries with BT Openreach reveal that Petersfield Telephone Exchange is designated as a Future Exchange, which means that dates for an upgrade to fibre optic lines will be confirmed nearer the time, in other words there is not date forecast for an upgrade.

A private company will only invest capital in its infrastructure if it is likely to make a return on that spend; in a rural area such as Stroud, this is unlikely.  To overcome this problem the government has allocated funds to subsidise the cost of expanding the fibre optic network to rural communities such as ours.  Hampshire County Council are co-ordinating this in our area, but we need to show them that we have a demand for this betters service.  What is becoming a normal practice of viewing television and video over the telephone line will be increasingly difficult to achieve without an upgrade to fibre optic cables.  Modern business expects to be able to send and receive large amounts of data seamlessly every working day.  If Stroud falls behind and misses an opportunity to receive a more reliable and faster broadband service, this will have a significant impact on its future as a desirable place to both live and work.  Residents need to register their intereste with the Councty Council at their website http://www3.hants/gov.uk/broadband.htm to ensure that we do not miss this opportunity.  This is a free service.

These can be summarised, as they were in the 2000 Village Design Statement with changes modified with reference to the loss of village hall and the upgrading of Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) to National Park status:

• Rich, diverse environmental heritage.
• Very high quality landscape setting.
• In South Downs National Park.
• Long history, important archaeological site.
• Immediate access to countryside.
• Excellent road and rail links.
• Clear separate identity; strong sense of community.
• Good population mix (socio-economic, age).
• Settlement in distinct clusters.
• Strongly defined entrances to village.
• Distinctive buildings; farmhouses; groupings of cottages.
• Public and working environments; school, pub, industrial grouping, residential care home for the elderly and farms drawing people into the village from outside.
• Intrusive and increasingly busy traffic needing measures for improvement.

   

The Parish Plan began with a process of consultation emanating from a village meeting held especially to discuss the need for one, which was overwhelmingly endorsed in November 2010.

From this, several ‘Feedback and Skills’ forms were returned and an informal Parish Plan Committee was set up and an inaugural meeting held in march 2011.  This coincided with something of a revitalisation of SARA that had sat quietly aside during nearly a decade of community activity being directed at the ultimately unsuccessful New Village Hall project.  With new impetus, a diary of (very successful) social events and newsletters were re0instigated, all of which involved updates on the Parish Plan and encourage involvement.

During spring and summer 2011 best efforts were made to obtain views from as many villagers as possible on what they most liked and disliked about the village and what issues were to be addressed by the Parish Plan.  Three informal drop-in social events were organised in different parts of the village during April to discuss what these issues might be. Questionnaires were sent out to every household with the SARA newsletter and the Parish Plan Committee engaged informal conversation on the topic at every opportunity.

Grants of £750 were received from EHDC, £300 and then £207 from HCC (via Community Action Hampshire) and £250 from SPC respectively to assist with the Plan’s production.  Apart form monies spent by the Parish Council, it was agreed at the inaugural meeting in November 2010, that the first outlay would be for some aerial photography which was undertaken in October 2011.  These photographs have proved of vital assistance in the Plan’s production and communication and have also been a source of minor revenue for the Plan when offered at village events at a small profit.

The next outlay was for he creation of a village website at www.stroudhants.com in November 2011 complete with Facebook page, which subsequently served as a further information tool until it was replaced the following year by a new website www.stroudvillage.co.uk which has been created and managed at no cost to the village by a family business based in Stroud.

By the end of summer 2011 some two dozen questionnaires had been received and over twice as many informal opinions.  Not as many of the former as had been hoped but combined with the thoughts of those spoken to and those then gathered at an October Parish Plan meeting held at the Seven Stars, enough, it was felt, to guide the direction of the Plan and the main needs and outcomes to be identified.

Community spirit and appreciation of the countryside were the prime positive aspects respondents identified about their village.  These were similar to findings from earlier local Agenda 21 polls and interviews from fifteen years before.  Similarly the prime negative elements related mainly to the traffic on the A272, as they had done in those earlier consultation.

Under these headings numerous individual issues were identified and the Parish Plan Committee was able to categorise and then prioritise a list of actions that could respond to the consultation findings.  The minutes form this meeting (which can be found in the appendices) serve as a good summary.

A further survey was undertaken in October 2012 with questions put to villagers within the Housing Needs Survey alongside those posed by Community Action Hampshire (see 3.4).  The full results of these can also be found in the appendices (appendix 6.2).  With the 69% village response rate, this was inevitably more comprehensive, but by and large the themes were the same.  Using the 3 headings identified in the initial consultations, a ‘Needs and Outcomes schedule’ (see 3.2) was produced which forms the final diagram of this document at Figure 14 Parish Plan Table (5.3), a working document for action.

Community Needs:

• Protect the village assets.
• Opportunities for new village shop.
• Keep the new village hall idea alive.
• Upgrade the Playground.
• Re-establish more community events.
• Improve communications. Village website, newsletter re-established.
• Explore need for car share or shuttle service, helping neighbours and neighbourhood watch.
• Explore need for new housing.
• Explore improvement of utilities.

Addressing the values of the environment

• Update the Village Design Statement and capacity for new development led by a landscape assessment.
• Explore opportunities to improve and extend footpaths.
• Explore opportunities to improve biodiversity.
• Explore opportunities for community strategy for sustainable/renewable energy.

Addressing the problems of the A272:

• Continued efforts to improve traffic calming measures and explore opportunities for improved cycling and footpath linkages.

Three specific items have been logged with the EHDC Community Forum for consideration in any future grant aid:

• New Village Hall.
• Improved playground.
• Improved cycling/footpath and road safety to A272.

 

In 2012 the Parish Council established a Parish Plan Subcommittee to augment the original committee in completing the Plan.  It was agreed that more targeted consultation needed to be undertaken with:

1. Workplaces and institutions within the village
2. Absentee landlords

1. Workplaces and institution in the village; These were seen as important stakeholders who may well have been bypassed in the original consultation with residents but who, in any event, were likely to have rather different sets of needs and aspirations to those who might live here.

1a.  The school:  Langrish Primary School currently has 209 pupils of whom approximately 10-15% would be from the village, a Head Teacher plus 7 teaching staff and a further 13 employees, most of whom are local but none living in Stroud.  The Headmistress feels the school’s location is a vital ingredient in its success; the landscape setting providing the children with a lively interaction with the environment, mature and farming.  Interaction with the village through opening up the school with events and for wider community use has been very much welcomed by the village as have the use of the village’s recreation ground by the school for play and at times, overspill parking.  Visits to the local farms and to the residential care home have been popular with all concerned.  The school appreciate the pub allowing parent parking at pick up and drop off times.  However there are remaining negative issue with the village with the vehicular activity at those times and the wider traffic issues of the A272 and hazardous roadside footpath system that no doubt results in so much use of the car which would benefit from improvement.

The perception of the village environment provided by schoolchildren can be informative and enlightening as well as humorous and heart-warming.  An exercise with final year schoolchildren in May 2012 is summarised in the appendices and compared to a similar one undertaken for the VDS 13 years before.

Langrish School

1872 Langrish National School; 1918 Langrish Council School;
1932 Langrish Junior School; 1945 Langrish Primary School

Langrish Primary School has an interesting history.  No doubt you will wonder why our school which is located in Stroud is called by the name of the bordering village.  

In 1872 a National School was established in Langrish opposite the Green; the head teacher was John Brown.  When it opened, it catered for 30 boys and 16 girls.  It is interesting to note that Langrish residents opted for a school, sponsored by The National Society for the Education of the Poor, with the Vicar as Chairman of the Governors rather than becoming a Local Authority Board school as allowed by the 1870 Education Act.

In 1892 the previous fee of 1 penny per week was made optional.  School holidays were generous with two weeks each for Christmas and Easter and five to six weeks in the summer, to allow the pupils to help with the harvest, so necessary to a farming community in those manpower intensive times.

In the early days attendance was not good, being particularly affected by the weather, illness and the domestic demands of the parents.  It was quite common for pupils to nurse parents when sick and for the school to close on the outbreak of an illness in the area.

In 1914 the school roll rose to 80 and as the school became overcrowded it was moved to the current location in Stroud, nevertheless retaining its original name.  In 1918 it was adopted as a Council School and became a Junior School in 1932 when Stroud became part of Petersfield Urban District Council.  Since that time it was changed to a Primary School.  In 1967, when Privett School and the junior department of Froxfield School closed, a 3 classroom extension and inside toilet were added and the school field acquired.  During this conversion a school hall was provided from the old classrooms.  By 1994 the school size had doubled and a further 3 classrooms and a new hall added, thus allowing the old hall to be turned back into two classrooms as it was when the school was first built.

The school parents have always played a significant part in the school life.  In 1970, they built the school swimming pool, thus providing the opportunity for the pupils to learn to swim.  Since that time, no pupil has left he school unable to swim. In 1992/4, the school acquired through their support, changing rooms, recreation area and a pavilion.

Mrs. Claire Hanson became head teacher in April 2005 and since then the school has continued to flourish.  Academic standards have remained consistently high with Langrish gaining an ‘Outstanding’ grading from Ofsted in 2007 and the latest interim assessment in May 2011 confirming the continued high performance of the school.

The arts and sporting curricula remain high profile with the school achieving the Artsmark gold award three times in succession for the quality of provision across the arts.  Inter-school sporting events are regularly held on the beautiful fields.

The school grounds have been enhanced in recent years by the addition of a sensory garden, activity trail and wildlife garden, currently under construction. 

The school building is currently having an extension build (autumn 2012) which will improve facilities for staff and create additional teaching space within the school for small group work.

1b.  The residential care home:  Stroud House currently cares for 25 elderly residents with a staff of 21, none of whom live in the village but most within 5 miles.  The owner identified the open views, countryside and village feel, while still in close proximity to the amenities of Petersfield, to be of prime importance.  The road was seen as a problem to the village though and they’d support anything that made it safer and also provided better public transport, cycle and footways.  He voiced hopes for closer links with the village, perhaps through informal open evenings for the community to learn more of what they do and the conditions that affect the elderly and more visits form the school since the elderly love the interaction with children.  The possibility of a sensory garden with level access would be good and perhaps one day a small community shop that could also be accessed by the local community. Planning permission was granted recently for redevelopment of the home but the owners have indicated uncertainty as to when that might take place.

1c.  The farms:  New Buildings Farm, owned by the Winscom family and managed by Sentry Farm Management, accounts for the largest landholding in the parish as well as the biggest farm buildings complex.  The latter includes the Farm Office, two dwellings (one of which is inhabited by a member of staff) and several barns and is currently looking to diversification under a Whole Farm Plan into storage and other commercial uses since the ending of dairy farming here in 2011. With the exception of a few fields of pasture let to others for grazing sheep, the farm is now entirely arable crop on a rotation of wheat, spring barley and oil seed rape.  Under a Higher Level Stewardship Farm Environment Plan started in April 2009 significant grant aid assists the farm in a series of environmental improvements that have included new hedgerows, water bodies and management initiatives.

Rothercombe Farm encompasses 165 acres of fields largely to the north of Stroud with only a few fields actually within the Parish boundary.  Run by the Snow family with three generations living within the boundaries at the farm and its neighbouring cottages, this is very firmly a farm and family of the parish.  For generations a dairy farm, Rothercombe is now entirely over to sheep with a stock number that has at times risen to 2800 though this does stretch the utilising fields elsewhere in the locality.  The farm is on an Entry Level Stewardship Scheme  with significant environmental management regimes underway since 2010.

Both farms have been generous benefactors to the village as locations for farm visits, village events and in the case of the Snow family, the land of the old village hall; and the Winscom family, providers of the land for the village recreation ground and possible new village hall.  The farmers are keenly involved in village matters and encourage interaction between the community and their farms.  In both cases their main concerns are with walkers who do not respect the public footpaths across their land and the need to keep to allotted routes, close gates behind them and keep dogs under control.  Crop damage and sheep worrying have proved to be problems when a basic understanding of farming practice, access and the countryside code are not respected.

It should also be noted that there is land to the western end of the parish boundary owned by the Lambert family and while this landholding may not appear to be of consequence, their wider farmland to the west certainly is, with footpaths and woods well used and appreciated by villagers.

1d.  The industrial premises (old garage, site on Winchester Road): White Rose Garage and four other firms related to the automotive trade currently lease various showrooms, offices, workshops and hard-standings on the site of the old petrol station at the centre of Stroud adjacent to the A272.  Owned by the Gammon family these are a series of 12 year leases which are understood to expire in the next two years or so.  While future intentions are unclear it would not be unfeasible for the owners to consider applying for change of use in order to build some further housing (as they did at Willowdale in the 1980’s).  The premises all lie within the designated Settlement Area of the Local Plan.  Whilst unsightly the working units have by and large been seen as a positive, diverse attribute to the village even though they may not be widely utilised by villagers (and no villagers are employed there).

1e.  The public house:  The Seven Stars is owned by Hall and Woodhouse and is located at the very heart of the village, providing a landmark by which the village is often best remembered by those passing through.  Its frontage is the nearest the settlement has to a village green and having gone through a couple of radical transformations in the last two decades, the pub is a very successful, much visited enterprise.  Though, in common with all the other workplaces in Stroud, it relies upon a clientele for the large part visiting from outside the village, the pub management have been a regular employer of villagers, helpful to the community in allowing school parking and a supplier of stock to village events.

2. Absentee landords:  There are some nine owners of fields within the Parish who neither live here nor own a dwelling here.  Those who owned dwellings that were rented were felt to be consulted by virtue of the questionnaire distribution but there was concern that these should be approached directly.  Not all responded of if they did, felt they had nothing they wished to say.  However it was a helpful exercise and a familiar fondness for the village’s setting, wildlife and community were evident as was the negative impact of the road and hope for better facilities (shop and village hall being mentioned by several).  The Higgs family who had for many years variously lived at different locations in the village, still own a field (that is currently leased to the Snows for sheep grazing) and had a copse planted at its roadside boundary as part of the Millennium plantings in memory to their late brother Angus.  They may well be interested in assisting the residents of Stroud House in providing a sensory garden.  They would also not be averse to the idea of applying for some limited, well designed residential development one day if that were to accord with the needs of the village.  The owners of the fields south for the A272 either side of the Seven Stars, which villagers have for many years suggested as the most sensible location for any future ‘green field’ housing, accorded with this view and would be happy to engage with the village in preparing proposals, suggesting it could be an opportunity for the village to make wider community gains than from the housing alone.

Finally, but importantly, a Housing Needs Survey was distributed in September 2012. This was to specifically identify our community’s views on more hosing in the village, our housing needs and whether there is a need for affordable housing in the village so that residents who cannot afford to buy or rent will not be forced to move away.  A total of 142 forms were sent out and 98 were completed and returned.  A very high response rate of 69%.  The Survey was then analysed by Community Action Hampshire who support parish Councils and local communities to identify housing needs.  Full data can be found at Appendix 6.3 and includes far more information than just addressing the housing needs.

This Survey build on the work of a previous 2005 survey which although it identified a clear need, failed to find a landowner willing to let land go.  The 2012 Survey was launched with the clear message to seek the community view on housing in the widest sense and that ‘this might involved the future exploration of ideas to provide more housing in the village at market value while providing some at affordable status’. 

During the history of community consultation in the village (fifteen years or so) rarely has a voice been heard to say there should never be any further development in the village.  Evidence collected previously has shown support with the idea that it is actually positive for the village to welcome new housing so long as it is at sufficiently low and steady numbers to be sustainable for a small village to absorb.

As an introduction note to the survey the Parish Plan Subcommittee wrote:

‘As a villager reading this, we calculate there is a nearly 50% likelihood you live in a house built in the last 80 years and half of these new homes have been built here in the last 25, not to mention many more alternations and additions.  Just as the country faces a nationwide housing shortage, not only does Stroud need to consider how it might play a part; we should also realise the vitality that new villagers can bring and how the map of Stroud has never stood still’.

While local government planning policy had done little to encourage any development within Stroud apart from infill within designated ‘settlement’ boundaries, the introduction of the new National Planning Policy Framework in March 2012 opened up the door for a far higher level of local community involvement in planning; the Parish Plan being one of the foremost vehicles in achieving this in rural areas (possible further initiatives such as a neighbourhood plan or neighbourhood development order would be seen as beneficial, but these are costly and time absorbing exercises).

Several of the Parish Plan Committee members attended workshops provided by the Local Authority.  These mainly related to planning matters and informal meetings have been held with SDNPA and EHDC officers during the production of this Plan.

It is acknowledged that any market value housing outside designated settlement boundaries would be against current planning policy but it was felt by the Parish Plan Committee that it was important to explore the issue nevertheless since, if government policy is to be believed, we should influence higher authorities if the case was proven that the community had identified wishes and needs that could be best met with some new built development. An Executive Summary from the survey was received from Community Action Hampshire on October 19th 2012:

Stroud Housing Need Survey
Headline Summary of Findings and Conclusions 
Full survey Report in Appendix 6.2

Executive Summary: Stroud Housing Needs Survey

Key features and main outcomes

• There is a limited number of smaller, cheaper homes either to buy or rent: there is a low turnover of open market and other stock partly due to there being a higher than average ageing population under-occupying larger houses.
• House prices are high in relation to the incomes of those in need:  the cheapest or entry-level house sold in the parish in 2011 was £182,000.
• The Survey has identified and recommended the need for a small housing scheme of 4 housing association homes for local people who need a home now or in the next few years with a range of property sizes.
• The proposed scheme should be a mix of 6 rented units and 2 shared ownership.
• Respondents cited 7 family members having recently moved away from the parish because they could not find a suitable home.
• Young adults wanting to set up an independent home form the family home form the single largest category of need but several other factors are identified in the report.
• Only 1 household in need is already on the Housing Register.
• A number of those in need have a household income of $21,000 per year.
• There is an overall preference for buying on the open market, however most are unlikely to be able to afford a property in the area on the basis of financial information provided.  Therefore their second and third choices of Housing Association properties by rent or shared ownership should be considered.
• All 8 of the households in need have a strong local connection: 7 currently live in the parish and 1 has family in the parish and wishes to return.
• 78% of all respondents would support the idea of building a small affordable hosing scheme for local people in the parish.
• All household in the parish were surveyed to assess local housing needs:  a good response rate of 69% achieved.

It is of note that many of these findings match those found in SDNPA’s ‘State of the Parish’ report.

Included in the September 2012 Housing Needs  Survey were a further 20 Parish Plan questions.  These questions covered various topics including transport, employment, road safety, housing types and styles, development and growth of the village, use and content of a village website and villagers top five priorities for the village.

The village has a total of 142 households which were all canvassed as part of the parish Plan.  Of the 142 households 98 (69%) returned their survey questionnaires.

When villagers were asked how they travel to work, 81 (63%) used their cars, 14 (11%) travel by train, 11 (6%) by cycling, 11 (6%) by walking 5 (4%) by bus and 2(2%) other.  When asked about whether villagers would use alternative transport solutions, 47 (36%) villagers would use safer cycle ways, 35 (27%) would use a shuttle service to the train station or Petersfield town centre and 4 (3%) villagers would use a car sharing scheme.

There is a high employment rate within those villagers who returned their surveys.  The 98 households contained 129 adults with 9 (7%) villagers in self employed occupations, 109 (84%) villagers in various employed positions and 11 (9%) retired villagers.  No one identified themselves as unemployed.

The survey asked villagers to identify which type of housing were needed to support a thriving balanced community.  Of the villagers who answered this question 49 (38%) identified family homes, 43 (33%) identified low cost market starter homes, 33 (26%) identified homes rented / part ownership, 23 (18%) identified elderly sheltered accommodation, 10(8%) identified flats to rent or buy, 5 (4%) identified executive homes, and 3(2%) identified other.  When asked which style of new housing would be the most appropriate for the fvillate 59(46%) identified semi-detached, 45 (35%) two storey, 41 (32%) terraced, 31(24%) detached, 15(12%) single storey and 1(1%) three storey.

When villagers were asked how development and growth should be managed within the village 55 (%) identified brownfield sites, 46 (%) infill development, 41 (%) smaller sites and 2 (%) larger sites.  The Survey then asked villager which aspect of new development/planning should the Parish Council pursue.  71 (55%) identified environmental issues, 63 (49%) highway issues, 46 (36%) housing design, 42 (33%) through developers contributions (Section 106), 40 (31%) sustainable urban drainage and 6(5%) other.

Stroud Village website is being designed at the time of producing the Parish Plan.  Villagers were asked what information they would like to see on the website, the majority of the responses identified community related information, including Parish Council minutes, forthcoming social events, school information, bus and train timetables, maps and footpaths, planning applications, newsletters and details of local businesses.

The last question asked the villagers to identify their top five priorities for the village.  A large number of priorities were identified which can be grouped into the following categories:  New village hall; road calming schemes; road safety measures including safer footpaths and cycle paths; improved footpath access between North Stroud Land and Ramsdean Road (Langrish School) and a village shop.

Road safety was a concern to many villagers.  The existing 30 mph speed limit in the village was identified as one of the most significant improvements to road safety in the village.  However villagers thought further traffic calming measures such as 39 mph repeater signs, flashing speed limit signs, speed cameras and enforcement measures were required.

An enormous amount of information has been collected about the parish landscape over the last two decades.  This started with the Local Agenda 21 Surveys that logged much of the information subsequently published in the 2000 VDS and the 2002 Biodiversity Report.

This still forms the basis to the diagrams used in this document at Parish Plan figures 7-9, updated with recent 2012 information where applicable.

During the intervening period the parish has seen the addition of ten further houses, the loss of a village hall, significant additional improvements to the pub, increasing traffic on the A272 (but with corresponding decreases in speed limit and footpath improvements to try to mitigate the effects to some extent), the change from dairy to sheep farming and quite a pleasing increase in newly planted trees, woodland, hedgerow and biodiversity management.  Parish Plan figures 9 and 10 indicate the natural and human landscape of the parish as they are at 2012.

As an exercise to assess how villagers perceive this landscape in terms of visual and spatial quality, a Village Landscape Assessment was undertaken in 2011.  This would give some further landscape values to guide an updated VDS as part of the parish Plan document.

This concerned itself with trying to define the landscape character, what was good and bad about it and what capacity it might have for potential development.

The village had been looked at before by villagers in terms of potential areas for development; in 1998 as part of the Local Agenda 21 process but later disregarded as being too specific for the 2000 BDS; then again as part of the 2005 Housing Needs Survey where eleven potential sites were looked at by the Parish Council with EHDC Planning and Highway officers.

While the latter exercise was cognisant of landscape values, it approached it from the point of view of infilling within the main body of the village, accessibility and likelihood of availability.  In the end only two of the eleven sites made it through the criteria, one of them to eventually fail on a change of mind of the highway officer, the other due to reluctance of the landowner to release land for affordable housing unless accompanied by the opportunity to build some of market value.

A landscape-led assessment would give a better understanding of how the village feels about its prime asset and perhaps better prioritise any areas with capacity for taking some development change of any sort, before undertaking any similar exercises again (as in fact happened with the second Housing Needs Survey the year after in 2012).

The Landscape Assessment again focused on the western half of the village given the open, agricultural aspect of all land to the east being universally accepted as being unlikely to find favour for any development consideration except within existing developed areas (e.g. New Buildings Farm).  In addition, preserving the gap between Petersfield and Stroud, so clearly demarked by the A3 bypass, is something villagers have always voiced as a clear priority.

Some eighteen villagers congregated on a clear day in November 2011 and after a detailed discussion on how the assessment would be approached and collectively testing the process at the gathered area, set off in two groups to cover two delineated areas.  Meeting afterwards to compare notes, plans and tables were sketched up and agreed.  These were subsequently drawn up and have been displayed and discussed at all SARA events since.  They are shown at Parish Map 13 with the accompanying description in tables at appendix 6.6.  While certainly not produced to encourage widespread development, they will hopefully serve to inform subsequent discussions on the potential for some limited interventions for the benefit of the village in the years to come and to inform guidelines for the updated VDS in this document’s next section.

Open weekend Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd December 2012

Following the community engagement in September 2012 through the Housing Needs Survey and the drafting of the Parish Plan, an open weekend at Langrish Primary School, Ramsdean Road was organised to allow further community comment on the Parish Plan and the survey.

The community were informed of the consultation by articles in the Petersfield Post on Wednesday 14th November and through SARA newsletter delivered to every household in the Parish.

A total of 47 people attended the open weekend and read the draft Parish Plan and the associated documents which were on view. Attendees were encouraged to leave comments on the Parish plan and 19 did so.  The following is a summary of the comments made;

“In support of proposed developments and funding for a village hall by developers.”
“Impressive display.  Like your idea for safer footpaths, cycle tracks etc.  Be interested to hear the outcome?”

“Changes will come whether we want them or not so it is good to see our Parish Council and Residents Association taking so much trouble to get things right for the village thank you.”

“The worry with any development being accepted is whether the plans change over time and lead to additional building which was not originally anticipated.  Agreeable to some development, but needs to be carefully controlled?”

“A lot of work involved in producing this survey, but not enough information about housing plans and impact on school, local transport and increase in cars parking etc.  Cycle paths and footpaths high priority.  Please retain Stroud identity.”

“Excellent and interesting document, priority support for village hall, cycle paths and footpaths. Would not object for small development with some affordable housing.”

“Interesting to note high percentage in support of local needs housing.  Happy to volunteer to help in some way with this to bring it forward.  Can the plan be part of the website? Support village hall and cycle link to Petersfield in particular.”

“An increase of a diverse population i.e. children, elderly there should be further safety measures in the A272 i.e. wider footpaths on the north side between bus stops with a crossing at the end of the cottages and the Seven Stars.  Where are the flashing speed signs to be sighted?”

“I don’t have a problem with the recent ‘plan’ to build on the Mount Pleasant land.  Looks like a cohesive plan – probably better than an adhoc building but let’s talk about it.”

“Fabulous display and reassuring to see the Parish Council whilst actively looking to improve housing, jobs and so on, are also actively promoting the retention of a village community.”

This section updates the 2000 Village Design Statement (VDS) and is intended to form the basis of a stand-alone VDS document to be produced in 2013/14 to replace that as Supplementary Planning Guidance once SDNPA’s own policies become formulated.  Village Design Statements will carry weight as material planning considerations if they are adopted as Supplementary Planning Documents by the SDNPA.  Adopting plans as supplementary planning guidance is subject to testing how robust the findings are an d how well they represent wider community views.  They could even form the basis for a Neighbourhood Development Plan or Order and help inform SDNPAs own policies.

However, information that goes into the VDS must be compatible with planning policies and to be of additional value, emphasise the distinctive character of the village, its buildings and its landscape and then what makes them of value to the villagers and how that might inform design decisions of architects, developers, householders and highways authorities.

The Planning Policy context in which Stroud sits is set out in the EHDC Local Plan (March 2006) which clearly defines settlement boundaries around the two higher density housing areas of the village.  Apart from progressive infill within these areas, opportunities for further development within the parish are limited although sites of existing agricultural buildings may have some development potential.  On that basis, it could be seen that the future is intended to be confined, if not static, and not necessarily in the best interest of the long term future of Stroud or the National Park.

Looking at the historic maps earlier in the document it is clear to see how the village has developed and continually evolved between each update.  Since the 1932 map (within the lifetime of some of the eldest residents) one can count over 60 new dwelling having been constructed (many more have been altered or enlarged) which accounts for nearly half the housing stock.

Nothing like this rate of development could take place within the confines of the EHDC settlement boundaries within a similar period in the future, and yet most villagers would say that some limited, sustainable growth is a good thing.  This would both house our young and elderly and bring in new blood from outside, slightly increasing the community and its inter-relationships.

The 69% response to the 2012 Housing Needs Survey was a strong indicator of community engagement with the topic. The majority were happy to discuss the possibility of new houses generally (and indeed their location) supporting the idea of building a small affordable housing scheme for local people in the parish.

There is therefore discussion to be had.  There are undoubtedly areas where the existing (rather arbitrary) ‘settlement boundaries’ could perhaps be extended.  Our landscape assessment and previous surveys have frequently included the suggestion that some development might be considered and best achieved at the centre of the village. This would join the currently designated settlements together in a logical but sensitively conceived manner that might also offer tangible benefits to the village in terms of new path linkages and open space provision.  This could possibly even be extended to include more ambitious projects.  For example, the village community has identified a common wish to have a new village hall.  Whether or not these areas are considered, it is worthwhile to reiterate much of the guidance from the 2000 VDS in relation to any potential development in Stroud. There will certainly be pressure to confront or engage with opportunities for development in the future.

Most villagers either work away from the village or, in increasing numbers, work from home.  The current main employers are the school and the industrial site which largely employ people who live outside the village, and the Seven Stars Pub which employs rather more from the community.  While villagers do not wish to lose the industry we have, there is very little demand for expanded employment opportunities within the village, other than through home working.  Any future development, other than within the current industrial site, is seen as being largely residential. There might be some scope for the use of redundant farm buildings for light industrial or leisure related activities.

Numerous surveys over the last fifteen years have indicated that there is conditional support within the village for some further small-scale development.  However, any such development must respect local character and be seen as improving the village and as enhancing the ‘feel’ of Stroud as a community.  Above all else, the size and nature of any new development must be sustainable. There may be potential to introduce some innovative an high quality contemporary architecture, so long as it respects build environment and contributes to the landscape character and the urban design framework into which it will sit.

There is consensus that the village could accommodate a small number of new houses, provided that they respect the setting and context of the village and provide the opportunity for more local infrastructure that may include assistance to some of the aspirations identified by the Parish Plan.

The rate of any future development of the village should be tightly controlled and limited to what a relatively fragile community can readily assimilate. Care will need to be taken to avoid overwhelming the existing infrastructure whilst introducing mixed tenure and value development.

The Landscape Assessment (see section 3.5) analysed the settlement and its landscape by breaking it down into defined character areas.

Good quality views out from the village to the surrounding landscape were found to be such a prevalent feature that trying to map them became meaningless.  Village opinions on features felt to be of poor visual quality tend to evolve around the built form; the road, the industrial units, remorseless close board fencing, overhead lines, housing built in unrelated fashion out of character or scale with existing building.

It is regarded as being crucially important that the undeveloped land between Stroud and the Petersfield by-pass should remain undeveloped.  The views from the A272 are of particularly high quality in this area and the retaining the gap is also important for continuing the hard-won separate identity of the village.

Villagers are keen to be active in encouraging and improving performance throughout the parish of more energy efficient practices focusing on the built environment and more sustainable modes of transport and mobility.  The more widespread use of feasible renewable energy will be explored and encouraged both at a micro and community scale.

As part of the above approach, the Parish Council should undertake to spread awareness and promote the available finance mechanisms, grants and Government incentives including Green Deal and ECO (Energy Company Obligation) for retrofit, FIT (Feed-in Tariff), RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) and other funding programmes.  SPC will be mindful of Government legislation and endeavour to meet targets for the reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions and an increased proportion of renewable energy sources to help meet energy demand.  Similarly the aims of the SDNPA will be respected and reflected.

One aim could be to complete an energy baseline target (carbon footprint) of domestic housing and set realistic targets for improvement. The aspiration would be to make Stroud a village that takes climate change seriously and in the longer term, work towards energy sufficiency as an example to other rural ‘off gas’ network villages.  

When reviewing planning applications for development and extension of floor space, SPC could then specifically consider sustainability performance and provide constructive feedback to applicants via the correct channels as required.

SPC could then work to tackle instance of fuel poverty amongst residents, aiming to provide support to eradicate its existence in the face of rising energy supply costs.

Educational campaigns, advice and awareness of sustainability could be operated to engage the stakeholder community.  These activities could address the conservation of natural energy and water resources, best waste and recycling practices, use of sustainable materials, ecological and environmental protection, biodiversity, green transport and communities. The need to retrofit buildings and behave more sustainably would receive particular attention.

A further aspiration would be to hold a community based event that seeks to promote and deliver progress towards achieving the above sustainable themes.

Footpaths, Cycle-ways and Bridleways

There is a strong argument for extending and upgrading the local network of footpaths away from the main road, so that the principal clusters of buildings and the school will be linked by footpaths and cycle-ways separated from vehicular traffic. The achievement of this objective would required the establishment of new rights of way.

There is strong demand for a cycle-way into Petersfield, but current proposals are limited to re-designating the existing footpath for dual use at some distant time.  This would not be regarded as satisfactory without some widening and resurfacing of the existing footpath.

Public Transport

Although relatively well served by buses, Stroud does not enjoy a service which allows villager to travel at all times of the day when there is a potential demand, particularly in the evening. Furthermore, the existing service is of no use to rail commuters, who are forced to travel to the station by car.  If the villagers are to be encouraged to leave their cars at home then the service will have to be considerably upgraded.

Traffic Management

Despite the 30mph speed limit, the traffic entering and accelerating out of the west end of the village is frequently travelling far too fast for safety, and policing of the limit is minimal; serious accidents, a number of them fatal, have occurred here.  Speed limit enforcement is required and speed reduction mechanisms on this stretch of the A272, including overtaking restrictions and/or a ‘gate’ at the western entrance similar to those in South Harting and Selborne should be considered so far as trunk road regulations allow.

The congestion problems associated with the school in Ramsdean Road could be alleviated to some extent if a new village hall (see Recreation section) with provision for more parking space is constructed on the adjacent site.  Nonetheless, the A272/Ramsdean Road junction should be a priority for improvement.

Specific recommendations for the consideration of any future development, including small-scale extensions to existing properties are:

• Develop in small clusters.
• Buildings should be of mixed density.
• All existing plantings should be maintained and indeed, enhanced using suitable native species.
• No buildings over three stories
• Buildings should be designed for low maintenance and low energy use.
• Full cycle and footpath provision.
• Easy access for the disabled.
• Use natural features such as slopes and landmark trees to add interest.
• Adjust rooflines to break up mass.
• Consider spaces between developments with equal care.
• Designs should have regard for the qualities of locally distinctive buildings, reinterpreting with contemporary design solutions if desired.

Building Guidelines

• Encourage opportunities for quality contemporary architecture that responds to local characteristics of form and materials – this continues a policy established in last twenty years.
• Maintain exiting building stock using original or sympathetic materials.
• Facades can be of brick, tile or render.  In addition, innovative alternatives which demonstrate superior visual and technical performance may be considered if they respond positively to local building characteristics.
• Consider the overall façade when replacing windows and doors.  Are they consistent and in context with their neighbours?
• Pay particular attention to major elements such as brickwork, roof, tiles and slates.  Extensions and modifications to existing walls and roofs must match.
• Extensions to individual houses should not alter existing building lines.
• New developments should avoid ‘standard house’ designs and should acknowledge local design references.
• Design pallet of distinctive details for roofs, openings, junctions, walls and related external spaces should be developed.

Landscape Guidelines

• The local landscape is widely considered by its residents to be Stroud’s greatest asset and special care will be needed to preserve and protect this.  New proposals will need to show a full understanding of and sensitivity for the landscape framework.
• Future land use should continue to utilise natural resources and continue the evolutionary processes that have shaped the landscape within the area.  Any further developments must satisfy, both individually and collectively, a requirement for sustainability.  Inserts of ‘Brookside’ style cul-de-sac will not be acceptable.

With a thorough and realistic appreciation of what is liked/disliked and appropriate/inappropriate within our landscape setting, there is an opportunity to set guidelines for future development that do not lose or damage those things that are most valued.

A checklist should include:

Natural features

Protection and making best use of:

• Topography.
• Watercourses.
• Woodland.
• Key trees and the hedgerow network.
• Forthcoming Conservation Study Report to identify and address an specific ecological concerns.

Encouragement of:

• Natural boundaries (hedgerow rather than fence.)
• Integration of new indigenous plantings with existing framework (wildlife corridors).
• New naturalistic waterbodies and woodland.

Avoidance of:

• Pollutants.
• Unsustainable materials or technology.

Visual features

• Protection and making best use of:
• Views in and out of village to surrounding landscape.

Encouragement of:

• Absorption within landscape.
• Spatial interest (variety of openness and enclosure).
• Screening of poor views.
• Framing of good views.
• Directional aids (lining routes, announcing access points etc.).
• Focal points (memorable features).

Avoidance of:

• Inharmonious scale, colour or materials

Land use and Social Infrastructure

• Protection and making best use of:
• Working countryside.
• Public access (footpaths and open spaces).
• Mixed population (economically, age etc.).
• Use by ‘outsiders’ (industry, school, pub, village hall, church).

Encouragement of:

• Community.
• Sustainability (economic, social and ecological).
• Public open space within any development.
• Access for disabled.

Avoidance of:

• Dormitory use.
• Over-development.

Utilities

Heating choices for households in the village are limited to electricity, bottled gas, solid fuel and oil, the first three of which are widely considered to have severe limitations.  There would be considerable interest in the village if mains gas were to be piped in, but this is not going to happen if Transco and other gas suppliers continue with their current short-sighted policy.  WE now are beginning to enjoy the benefits of competition between energy suppliers.

Above ground electricity distribution is probably unavoidable on cost grounds, but with future supply, Southern Electric will need to be more sensitive to the aesthetic impact upon a National Park.  It is understood that SDNPA is considering this as a priority area in emerging park management plans.

Any upgrading of teh street lighting would need to have the minimisation of light pollution as a primary design requirement.

The upgrading of communication links including faster broadband is an active campaign and individuals have been asked (by repeated postings in newsletters) to sign up to

https://www3.hants.gov.uk/broadband/broadband-signup.htm

Recreation

A village hall is much missed in Stroud, and used to provide a venue for a wide range of recreational activities.  The previous building came to the end of its usable life and the construction of a new hall is a matter of the highest priority for the village.  Utilising the school, pub, church, neighbouring village halls and people’s houses is not proving to be satisfactory.  Outline planning consent has recently been given by East Hampshire  District Council for a new hall on a site immediately south of the school in Ramsdean Road.  Because this site is being offered to the village as a gift from the landowner, it represents the only financially viable option.  Furthermore, there are no contra-indications from the development criteria set out above.  Support for this scheme is not unanimous, but it is the best of many sites that have been considered.  The lack of available funding is a serious constraint.

 

Stroud has a long history and possesses an important Roman archaeological site.  It has a rich, diverse environmental heritage and enjoys a very high quality landscape setting within a National Park. We have a school, a pub, a church and a residential care home for the elderly.  Our population has grown and changed now to reflect a greater mix of age, gender, race and employment.  We have a clear, separate identity with a strong an increasing sense of community, notwithstanding the disadvantage of the trunk road that bisects the village.  It is a dynamic an thriving place to be.

The Parish plan with its Village Design Statement focuses on the characteristics that currently make Stroud an attractive and enjoyable place in which to live.  The recommendations concerning the future of our village propose a balance between the benefits of our evolved past, the protection and enhancement of our immediate environment and a realistic view of the need for development.  Stroud villagers care for their surroundings and for their quality of life and this is reflected in the amount of voluntary work that has been undertaken to:

• Create SARA and a continuing diary of community events and newsletters.
• Obtain parish status and a continuous Parish Council active in its pursuit of village interest.
• Conduct surveys for Local Agenda 21 and the VDS of 2000.
• Secure outline planning consent for new village hall.
• Carry out community Millennium tree plantings and new proposed playground improvements.
• Prepare this Parish Plan 2010-2012 and its Action Plan overleaf.
• This Parish Plan results from widespread consultation among residents.  It is a working document, which describes how we wish to shape the infrastructure, manage issues and improve the quality of village life in the parish.  This work will be achieved in partnership with the whole community; those who work here and visit, potential developers and of course the relevant local and regional agencies and authorities.

• Rich, diverse environmental heritage.
• Very high quality landscape setting.
• In South Downs National Park.
• Long history, important archaeological site.
• Immediate access to countryside.
• Excellent road and rail links.
• Clear separate identity; strong sense of community.
• Good population mix (socio-economic, age).
• Settlement in distinct clusters.
• Strongly defined entrances to village.
• Distinctive buildings; farmhouses; groupings of cottages.
• Public and working environments; school, pub, industrial grouping, residential care home for the elderly and farms drawing people into the village from outside.
• Intrusive and increasingly busy traffic needing measures for improvement.

 

 

Addressing the furtherance of community spirit:

• Keep the new village hall idea alive.
• Opportunities for new village shop.
• Upgrade the playground.
• Re-establish more community events.
• Improve communications.  Village website, newsletter re-established.
• Explore need for car share or shuttle service, helping neighbours and neighbourhood watch.

Addressing the values of the environment:

• Update the Village Design Statement and capacity for new development led by a landscape assessment.
• Explore opportunities to improve paths and extend footpaths.
• Explore opportunities to improve biodiversity.
• Explore opportunities for community strategy for sustainable/renewable energy.

Addressing the problems of the A272:

• Continued efforts to improve traffic calming measures and explore opportunities for improved cycling and footpath linkages.

3 specific items have been logged with the EHDC Community Forum for consideration in any future grant aid:

• New village hall.
• Improved playground.
• Improved cycling/footpath and road safety to A272.

This is summarised overleaf at Figure 14 and provides the working document for the future an a checklist for SPC (and the higher local authorities) when considering needs of the community and reviewing matters such as planning applications.

 

6.1 Property Register and Census Data.

6.2 Results Stroud Parish Plan Questions from Housing Survey, October 2012.

6.3 Results Stroud Housing Needs Survey, October 2012

6.4 Summary Sheet from Previous Housing Needs Survey, February 2007.

6.5 Initial Consultations and Actions 2011: Parish Plan in Progress

6.5.1  Minutes.

6.5.2  Summary of returns on 2011 Survey.

6.6 Stroud Landscape Assessment Summary Sheet 2011.

6.7 Summary of 1997 Interviews with Longer Term Residents (from 2000 VDS).

6.8 Langrish School Pupils 2012 and 1999.

6.9 Miscellaneous Historic Data.

Sources and Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Stroud Parish Council, Stroud Area Residents Association and all those included in producing this plan, not least, all the villagers who responded to Surveys and/or attended consultation events to  offer opinions.

Also to the officers to SDNPA< HCC, EHDC and Community Action Hampshire, who gave assistance and comment during its production and with particular thanks to Chris Paterson, Community Officer SDNPA, with whom we met on several occasions to discuss progress.

Also to SPC, EHDC and HCC for grant aid towards the plan; and Petersfield based Landscape Architects, The Terra Firma Consultancy who gave freely some considerable staff time and resources in producing much of the documents, text and drawings.

Stroud Area Residents Association Newsletters over the last two decades, The Stroud Handbook 1996, local history interviews 1997, Local Biodiversity Report 2002 and most importantly, Stroud Village Design Statement 2000 upon which so much of this document is based.

David Wade, who produced the illustrations, to which he retains the copyright.

Judith Wright’s Millennium ‘Stroud in Pictures’ record and ‘Walks Around Stroud’ booklet.

Thanks are also given to Evelyn Hickox for permission to quote extracts from her book, ‘Some Aspects of Langrish Life through the Ages’.