Homes could be lost in Buckskin and South Ham redevelopment

As previously reported, housing providers Sovereign Network Group (SNG) and The Hill Group have formed the Sovereign Hill Partnership to transform two large areas of the town as part of a 20-year regeneration project.

While the scheme is still in the consultation stage, residents of Buckskin and South Ham have been made aware that they could be subject to Compulsory Purchase Ordrs (CPO), meaning they could be forced to sell their homes to the council to make way for the redevelopment. 

Alex Comfort, 29, of Cairngorm Close, Buckskin, is one of the residents who fears she might be affected by a CPO.

READ MORE: Major regeneration project could transform parts of Basingstoke beyond recognition

Alex Comfort owns a home in Buckskin (Image: Alex Comfort)

She said: "We have a few main concerns. The first is the lack of communication.

"They (SNG) claim they have been in regular communication with us, but many local residents have only just become aware of this. Information boards were only put in churches and community centres last week."

Alex explained that a lot of people in the area are elderly and own their own homes. She believes the project would cause them distress.

She said: "I think a lot of people will have anxiety and stress; there are a lot of retired people who are mortgage-free and now face the possibility of having to get a new mortgage.

SEE MORE: PICTURES: Here's how Buckskin and South Ham could look after major regeneration

"We love the area and our home, which we own, but now have the possibility of losing it. Even if we don't, SNG plans to demolish the bungalows along Grampian Way, which will cause many issues in itself."

Alex explained that living next to a construction site for an extended period of time could have detrimental consequences to the health of residents.

"I work as an investigative coroner, so I know the dangers of demolition-related deaths, I look into them a lot. I have a young baby and I am concerned about living next to a demolition site - it will have significant health impacts on residents.

"This will be going on for 20 years, what will that do to my young daughter?" she asked. 

Alex isn't alone in her thinking, hundreds of residents have voiced their opinions online.

She said: "There is an action group which was set up on Facebook to fight against plans - it was only set up on Saturday (March 29) - and already has almost 1,000 members.

"We're also forming a committee which has 16 members so far. There is a strong feeling in the community that we don't want this to happen.

"SNG held a meeting at the weekend but only had one person who was able to answer the questions. He tried his best, but he couldn't answer when or why it has to happen."

Alex suspects that the reason South Ham and Bucksin were chosen for the project is because they are low-income areas.

She said: "A report said that Buckskin and South Ham are low-density population areas, but that just isn't the case. It also said the houses are terribly built but they're not, they're actually really well built. Alright, they are not the nicest looking but you can't just flatten houses because they are not the prettiest.

"Why not choose somewhere like Kempshott? Is it because that area is more affluent? It does feel like they are trying to gentrify the area.

"They said they want to retrofit some homes - we have no problem with that - a lot of us support this. We just don't want families in the community to lose their homes.

"SNG say they have been buying 50 per cent of the properties in South Ham and Buckskin for years, it feels a bit like a hostile takeover - people who rent SNG properties won't have a leg to stand on."

Alex also fears that many residents won't be able to afford to stay in the town, should they be issued with a CPO. 

She said: "They also say those with the CPO they will buy the houses at market value, but South Ham and Buckskin are the cheapest areas in Basingstoke, so even if we receive that money, we wont be able to afford to live in other parts of the town and would have to increase mortgages or live in smaller homes."

She also believes that the community would not be as safe because many of Basingstoke station's on-call firefighters live in Buckskin and South Ham, and would no longer be within the required four minutes of the fire station if they were forced to move. 

She said: "SNG also hadn't thought about the fire station and all the on-call firefighters who have to live within four minutes of it.

"My husband is an on-call firefighter, and we worked out that about 35 per cent of them must live in Buckskin and South Ham. If we are all displaced, then there won't be any on-call firefighters in Basingstoke.

"It will massively impact the community, and we won't be as safe."

A spokesperson for SNG said: "By the end of the year, we plan to share more detailed ideas, including timelines for potential change, and further details on how we would support those who could be impacted."

A spokesperson for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said: "At this stage it is too early to identify any specific regeneration projects or impacts on individual properties.

"There would need to be far more detail and much more specific proposals before compulsory purchase orders would ever be considered.

"Compulsory purchase would only be considered if further work identifies a clear need and justification in the public interest for such action and would only be pursued as a last resort.

"Any compulsory purchase order case would be independently assessed, and a secretary of state would take the final decision."