A division is starting to appear in a small village on the south of the Isle of Wight. A planning application is at the centre of the disagreement.
An application to build four new homes just outside Niton on the site of village’s football club has attracted a mixed bag of responses on the council’s planning Website.
The land is owned by The Billings Group, who are offering the football club a 125 year lease for a peppercorn rent.
Financial incentive for club
The developer is promising to give £40,000 to the club if the application goes ahead, with a view to that money being used to help build a new club house.
The current Portakabins are coming to the end of their life and create a poor impression of the club and village say those in support.
Too large and not needed
Those against the application argue the development is too large and sits within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
They say the latest Parish Housing Needs Survey (November 2014) shows no requirement for the four three-bedroom homes.
Niton FC: “Changing rooms on their last legs”
Stuart Chatfield, secretary of Niton Football Club told OnTheWight,
“The development will give the club a great opportunity to replace our Portakabin changing rooms which are on their last legs. The present facilities do not give a good impression of the village to visiting clubs or passers through the village. A long term lease over the ground has been proposed for the club, which would give the football club a secure future.
“A new facility would help the club attract new players and more importantly retain the local ones that we have already at the club, which in the past has proved difficult due to the poor facilities. The club house would be made available to the local residents of both Whitwell and Niton to use for functions, so making it a community facility as well.”
Concerns of local councillors
Niton and Whitwell Parish Council Planning Committee chairman Cllr Jonathan Young said,
“The parish council isn’t backing these plans as they stand. We share the neighbours’ concerns about protecting the AONB, and we’re as puzzled as they are by the claim that they’ve already been consulted.
“I’ve not talked to a single soul in Niton, though, who doesn’t want the best for the football club. Their Portakabins are at death’s door, and – now that the developer has chopped down the screening hedge – are an eyesore as you drive into the village.
“But this proposal, even if you take the view that the AONB can be compromised for the greater good, simply has too many imponderables, the main one being funding.”
Young: “The sums just don’t add up”
Going on to express concern over the £40,000 pledge, Cllr Young went on to say,
“We’ve been working with the club for many months with the aim of joining the project as co-signatories to the lease of the ground. We’ve even put up £1,000 to cover our joint legal fees. But at the end of the day the sums just don’t add up.
“The £40,000 pledged by the developer needs to be matched several times over, and we’ve seen nothing to persuade us that this is likely to happen.
“As a council we’ve a duty to make sure, as far as we’re able, that we don’t end up with houses in the AONB, but no clubhouse. The absence of a clear funding strategy makes that a real danger.
“I’m sure we’ll carry on talking to the club, if they’re willing, regardless of the final outcome of this planning application. It may be, for example, that another site in the village can be identified to meet their needs – which is something everyone wants to do.”
Webster: “Development is far too large”
Resident, Emma Webster, told OnTheWight,
“I have lived opposite Niton Football Club for the past 29 years, and although I agree their facilities need to be improved, the scale of this development is far too large.
“The four three-bedroom houses are not required as stated in the Parish Housing needs survey dated November 2014. The new proposed car park entrance is too near an already dangerous fast bend, where there have been numerous accidents.
“The development is outside the village settlement area and is also inside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A smaller scale facility based on the existing Portakabin site would be more beneficial for the requirements of the Football Club.
“At no point during the consultation process between the developers, parish council, or football club, were the residents opposite contacted.”
Chatfield: “Project carefully thought through”
Mr Chatfield finished by saying,
“The club believes that the whole project has been thought through carefully and areas of concerns such as access, have been discussed with the highways agency to make sure it will be safe. The houses and pavilion would be built with materials that would help minimize the effects on the landscape.
“It is a great opportunity on paper that the club hopes will become a reality in the future.”
Comments on the application can be completed online on the council’s planning Website. They must be received by close of business on 26th December 2014.
Image: © Google Streetview
