The Best Guide for the SO50 Area

Thank you for running this story, it is a very important local issue for everyone in OUR community and I hope that many people will both read and comment. This is OUR town and OUR community, if we do not stand up and protect it no one will... Matthew. (For our children's children.)

I know - it's very inconvenient of a 100 year + tree to have grown where some commercially minded moron could make a few quick bucks!

Still, I'm glad people are taking pictures of our trees, flowers and fauna, so the next few generations will know what once covered the planet.

Like the ad says "When it's gone, it's gone!"

What are the lcoal councillors doing about this?

This destruction of our historic and locally of importance and significance heritage is woefully regrettable - when will our 'town leaders' learn that having nothing to pass down to the next generation will not instill their love of local history, and will create a generation of young people who learn not to value but to destroy. We should be protecting and preserving and teaching our children to love the place they grow up in, to appreciate its history as that is part of what we are today.

It's such a shame that our future generation will know nothing of the history of Eastleigh and other Towns in our Country. There is so much for them to see and learn and yet all that they will know about is concrete blocks of flats and offices. Where's the interest in that?

I must congratulate Matthew for his tireless efforts to preserve what is left of this town and the environment.

I can only echo what’s been said, the most frightening thing about this whole story is that correct avenue's had been taken to stop this from happening. Well the correct Avenue's had been taken by the protesters, Eastleigh Borough Council decided they're above this and went ahead with it anyway! Absolutely shocking. Props to Matt for all his hard work!

Great to see comments appearing on the story and thank you all the really nice comments you have made.

I can confirm that this is Phase 3 of The Point Dance centre, which you rightly point out will become a new dance studio to add to their existing two other dance facilities that the council’s own figures show that are only at 62% capacity.

The sting in the tail for this development is that it is being built on land not owned by the council but the people of Eastleigh, given to then under charter for recreational use. The cost for this extension is £3 million pounds from local taxes, yet independent research on the use of The Point shows that only 7% of SO50 residents use this facility, the bulk of users come from outside the SO50 area and they are not the ones who will be paying for it.

However let us not forget the secret additions to this new dance studio. On the top of the building will be built three, self contained two bedroom flats for exclusive use for tired dancers. However local housing policy states that to avoid these dancers having to pay community charge the flats can only be occupied for 20 weeks out of every year. So for 37 weeks or 7 months they will sit empty. Now given there are over 5000 local people waiting on the councils housing list for basic accommodation in the SO50 this is a clearly a sham.

How a housing officer can look into the eyes of a mother with a small child who has had to leave her home through domestic violence and presents herself to the council for help only to be told that they have to go into a hostel defies believe knowing full well that the council have this empty housing stock.

I leave your readers to express there feelings on the matter.

I think it is a huge disappointment that the council has destroyed another piece of Eastleigh history.They had no right to chop down sid and demolish the old fire station .sid didnt belong to the council ,he belongs to us ,thus them having no right to chop him down and as for the fire station ,the only surviving building of its type ,gone as well.

Is this true about the rooms for "tired dancers?" I can't believe that this would really happen. There surely must be other plans.

Lynne M. I can assure you 100% that these flats will be used only as I have detailed. You can go check the planning application at the civic offices. They will sit empty for 7 months a year as they can not be used for any other purpose by 'The Point' or any other group which was a stipulation of the planning consent. Its a total sham that was agreed by six Lib Dem Councillors. Chris Thomas, Peter Wall, Gylnn Davies-Dear, Andrew Moore, Jenny Head and Wayne Irish. I would point out that one Lib Dem councillor, Maurean Solitt would not vote on the issue and both Labour Councillors, Peter Luffman and Brain Norgate, objected to the application.