A DEAL between developers and the Church of England could release cash to support a plethora of community projects around Waterlooville.

The Anglican diocese of Portsmouth wants to sell a one-acre patch of land to the Grainger Trust to help them provide access to a planned 2,000-home development to the west of Waterlooville. Church leaders then hope to plough that money back into the community, to provide more pastoral and spiritual support in that area. 

Local politicians, pressure groups and planning officers also want the Church and the developers to reach a deal, as that would mean the southern access road for the development could be built off the Ladybridge roundabout in Purbrook. The Anglican diocese has now submitted a planning application to Havant Borough Council for such a road to be built.

If the Church’s land is not sold to developers, any southern access road would have to come off the A3 south of the Ladybridge roundabout, ploughing through a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). It would mean walkers and joggers from Purbrook having to cross two major roads to get to their recreation ground. The Grainger Trust has now submitted a planning application to Havant Borough Council along these lines.

The West of Waterlooville Forum – which includes councillors and officers from Havant Borough, Winchester City and Hampshire County Councils – and the Purbrook and Widley Area Residents’ Association are all keen for the new road to be built off the roundabout at the western end of Ladybridge Road. It would then go through the land owned by the diocese, which was part of the garden of the old vicarage for St John’s Church, Purbrook.

Diocesan secretary Michael Jordan said: “As we understand it, the major development area to the west of Waterlooville, which includes shops, housing and leisure facilities, will be worth £500m to the developers, at a conservative estimate.

“If our land provided the only access to the development site, we would expect 30 per cent of that money. As there will be four roads leading into the site, you could then divide that figure by four. But we’re not asking for anything like that.

“Under Charity Commission rules, we have to maximise the value of our assets – we can’t just sell them off at a knock-down price. But we’re asking for less than one per cent of the value of this development to provide a road in exactly the place where the whole community wants it to be.

“We’re not asking for this money because we need it to balance our books – we’re not facing a financial crisis. In fact, we want to invest in the local community, through the kind of services to the community that the Church has always been associated with. For example, we’d want to be involved with the creation of a new primary school, children’s centre, adult education services, Fairtrade café, retail chaplaincy, pastoral and spiritual support – all the things that this fledgling community will need.

“We’ve also met with the highways authority and done all the necessary assessments of the impact of traffic on that roundabout. We’re confident that our planning application demonstrates that this is the preferable solution that gives the public what they want.”

Pam Cooper, secretary of the Purbrook and Widley Area Residents’ Association, said: “We would much prefer the access to be off the Ladybridge roundabout. The Grainger plans for the southern access road introduce another stopping point on the A3, which already has over 30 stopping/turning off junctions between Waterlooville and the top of Portsdown Hill. Pedestrians from Widley and Purbrook will have to cross four roads to reach the Purbrook Heath area.”

At the moment, the Grainger Trust is considering the Anglican diocese’s offer to sell the land. If a deal is struck, the developers could take over the diocese’s planning application. Havant Borough Council are now consulting the public on the diocese’s application.