News shared by Ben Wood on behalf of Build a Better Bembridge. In his own words. Ed
Local campaign group ‘Build a Better Bembridge’ are calling on the Isle of Wight council to build more affordable homes on sustainable sites that can deliver realistic opportunities for Islanders.
The group which was originally set up to address residents’ concerns over inappropriate housebuilding in Bembridge say they want a wider conversation about delivering appropriate homes that meet genuine Island-wide need. They cite a current planning application on Steyne Road, Bembridge for 11 two-bedroom flats on brownfield land as an example.
“Excessive allocation of greenfield land”
Build a Better Bembridge, known as BBB, have been vocal in resisting allocations for building 180 homes on the edge of Bembridge and have criticised the excessive allocation of greenfield land in the current draft Island Planning Strategy.
BBB being “unfairly painted as anti-housebuilding”
Reflecting on recent news stories in the local press featuring Bembridge based developer, Captiva Homes, BBB say local campaigners and councillors are being unfairly painted as anti-housebuilding which is not accurate.
BBB say they are launching a campaign which calls for housebuilding in places which are affordable and close to local jobs and opportunities.
Smith: 80 per cent of current market price still very far from affordable
Sara Smith of Build a Better Bembridge said,
“We agree that there is a housing need on the Island for low-cost homes including affordable rental accommodation. The key question is how to best deliver it.
“Developing large chunks of farmland on the edge of villages will swell the bank balances of private developers, but it will do little to deliver homes that most Islanders can actually afford.
“Only a minority of the homes on private land can be designated as ‘affordable’ and even then, affordable only means 80 per cent of market price. When house prices have climbed 20 per cent in the last two years in some areas, 80 per cent of the current market price is still very far from affordable for most people.
“These sorts of houses will appeal mainly to the second home market or investors.”
Wood: IWC should be doing more to prioritise land it owns
Ben Wood of BBB went on to say,
“The council should be doing more to prioritise land it owns where it is not bound by the national definition of so-called affordability. It can build and let properties at genuinely affordable low rents where there is a real shortage of supply.
“In addition to council owned brownfield sites in Newport, we are aware of a site near Nettlestone which a housing association is interested in bringing forward.
“None of these sites are in the draft IPS notwithstanding the plan is supposed to identify land allocations for the next 15 years and help Islanders.”
Robertson: We have to take a stand and say enough is enough
Local councillor Joe Robertson added,
“Bembridge is already set to deliver over 40 homes by way of approved permissions and future windfall sites.
“The village has had a longstanding record of delivering housing development and it is not turning its back on delivering for local people in the future.
“But when the local bank has closed, the local garage has been knocked down and replaced with housing, and the council are trying to reduce pupil places at Bembridge Primary School we have to take a stand and say enough is enough – we cannot accommodate another 180 additional properties.”
BBB sceptical of environment pledges
Captiva Homes has recently announced what it says are a range of environment pledges which include carbon offset against the homes it builds by planting trees and rewilding on land it says it has secured. But BBB remain sceptical.
Gerry Price of BBB said,
“Planting trees and rewilding at some unspecified location at an unspecified future date does nothing for the individual villages which developers are pouring concrete into.
“How does planting trees in another part of the Island deal with the already overstretched Victorian sewage systems or the major flooding we saw in Bembridge and Binstead last summer and in Arreton this summer?
“What we need is specific detail within planning applications which must be delivered like flood mitigation, use of renewable energy like solar panels and ground source heat pumps, collection of rainwater, eco-friendly building designs, and use of new technologies.
“Looking at Captiva’s planning applications to date we have seen nothing that sets them apart in terms of delivering green or affordable housing.”
