A major infill housing development in Gunville has been given the green light — 14 months after it was previously rejected by the Isle of Wight Council.
Over two applications, 149 houses can be built on land off of Arthur Moody Drive and Forest Hills over the project’s lifespan although final details for 113 of the properties would still need to be approved at a later date.
36 more homes approved
Full permission has been granted by the Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee on Tuesday for the other 36 houses.
Overall, 52 properties would be designated as affordable.
The application was first heard by the planning committee last August but was thrown out due to concerns over access and the impact on the local highway.
Revised plans
Developers behind the scheme, DN Associates, carefully addressed the concerns, Andrew White Planning Consultancy said, and submitted revised plans this April.
They hoped to address concerns including updated transport data and a new access point through the neighbouring Ash Lane scheme.
As a result of the changes, Island Roads, as highways authority, accepted the proposals and gave provisional support.
Objections were still received, however, over the highways impact and the introduction of double yellow lines around the current estate which would see on-street parking removed and replaced by parking spaces in the new development.
Ambrosini: Changes achieved very little
Representative of Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, Cllr Matthew Ambrosini said the changes had been framed as a silver bullet, but in actual fact achieved very little, requiring unfair double yellow lines to impact current residents and spread the negative impact onto another area of Gunville.
Lever: Nothing addressed the council’s previous concerns
Ward councillor, Cllr Joe Lever, said nothing about the application had addressed the council’s previous concerns and he viewed the latest plans as a roll of the dice.
Brodie: Parking considered over housing needs
Planning committee member, Cllr Geoff Brodie, said it seemed to him people were more concerned about where they were going to park their car instead of whether other people could have a roof over their head.
He said the council would build on brownfields, but was going to have to bite the bullet and address the housing need by building on greenfields.
Cllr Brodie said previous issues had been addressed and he proposed to approve the applications.
Planning permission was agreed with five votes in favour and three against.
Andre: Substandard housing
Cllr Debbie Andre said a recent study showed some of the Island’s current housing stock was substandard and this was an opportunity for new homes to be built to modern standards.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
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