Newport and Carisbrooke Community councillor, Joe Lever, has shared his objections to a planned development in Gunville, calling for a “suitable and robust Island Planning Strategy”.
Lack of affordable homes
Cllr Lever expressed concerns regarding the planned development,
“Gunville and neighbouring Newport West are relatively large, winding areas plagued with spots of inadequate off-street parking and many households – including my own – are car dependent. A number of roads in these areas (including Carisbrooke) are already considered dangerous for both vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. This development will only likely make this worse.
“We also have a very big challenge with affordability of housing on the Island, and this issue is running away from the current Council administration. Only 35 percent of new homes proposed for the Gunville development are predicted to be affordable. This number is far from acceptable, especially given the IW Council’s record on providing affordable housing.”
Gunville a site of archaeological importance
He added:
“The Island is now a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, largely due to a recognised harmony between our communities and local environment. The Newport area specifically, has plenty of empty properties that can be turned into efficient, affordable housing.
“So why are we seeing a proposal for development on land that could otherwise be used for growing local produce; potentially adding risk to our Biosphere status? Additionally, the site at Gunville is now of local archaeological importance after the recent discovery of an Iron Age roundhouse.”
Objection from “across the political spectrum”
Cllr Lever observed that there’s been objection from across the political spectrum and so appreciates, with that being the case, that residents may be left wondering how we got to this point.
“Part of the problem here is that we still don’t have a suitable and robust Island Planning Strategy. The IW Council’s own Website details, ‘Not having a plan means that the growth will still happen, but we will have less control over where it happens…’.
“So unfortunately, until the IW Council delivers on an adequate planning strategy we will likely continue to see more undesirable planning applications, such as those in Gunville.”
