A controversial application to build two-holiday lodges on protected woodland in Bembridge will be decided by the government’s Planning Inspectorate after the Isle of Wight Council missed a deadline.
In a decision published on the council’s Website, officers say the applicants, Love Lane IOW, have ‘enacted their right’ to appeal the application due to the lack of a decision by the unitary authority within the designated timeframe.
The application for the holiday lodges was validated by the local planning authority on 8th February, but no decision had been made eight weeks later, by the statutory decision date of 5th April.
Councillor announced refusal
Two months after that date Bembridge councillor Joe Robertson shared the first news that it was to be refused by the Isle of Wight Council of the decision — after more than 300 objections were submitted.
The agent for the applicant said that the ‘organised campaign’ against the lodges was ‘bordering on mass hysteria’.
Backlog of cases
The council’s Website said the planning team has been experiencing a significantly higher than usual demand for their services over an increasingly sustained period of time, as well as dealing with staff absences and IT issues.
The team have asked for the continued patience and understanding from applicants while they clear the backlog as delays are likely across their services including the determination of applications.
IWC refusal now published
Despite the application now being determined by the Planning Inspectorate, the council has still published the decision it would have made, based on the information provided.
The local authority would have refused permission for the lodges, with main issues including the impact on the character of the area, on nearby properties, the ecology and trees.
IWC: Development would jar with rural character of lane
In their decision notice, officers say the units would not provide high-quality tourism accommodation, but instead be poorly arranged as the woodland would overshadow the lodges making the internal areas dark and lack sunlight.
They said,
“It is the planning authority’s opinion that owing to the wooded nature of the site, the narrowness of the woodland and the absence of any development within it, the development would jar with the rural character of the lane and appear as an obvious intrusion into an area that is rural and not of sufficient width to comfortably accommodated this development.”
IWC: Hard to construct without causing damage to trees
Officers went on to say there would be several factors that would compromise the designated woodland, one being it would be hard to construct the building without causing damage to the trees.
Although mitigation measures had been suggested through planning documents, planning officers said they could not be secured to prevent harm and “the economic benefits of the tourism accommodation would not outweigh the significant harm that would be caused to the protected woodland or the character of the area”.
The appeal was validated in June, but no information is available to say when it could be determined.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Plan Research
