A bid to build 16 retirement park homes on the edge of the Isle of Wight’s county town has been refused due to the development being ‘cramped’ and ‘out of character’.
The council rejected Luxury Retirement Living’s proposal for nine two-bedroom units and seven with three bedrooms on land to the south of Newport’s Asda and west of Pan Lane.
Application 23/00884/FUL also included related onsite roadways, parking and landscaping at the site.
The applicant’s agent, Geraint John Planning, previously said the proposal would have ‘no harmful impact’ on the area’s character, delivering ‘adequate residential amenity’ for future residents with sufficient separation distances and planting between units.
In addition, the consultancy said it provided ‘much-needed age restricted general market housing on a deliverable site’ with ‘considerable benefit’ to the local area.
“The continued use of the Asda site must be protected”
County Hall received an objection from Jigsaw Planning on behalf of Asda,
“The application would introduce dwellings adjacent to an existing Asda store.
“The proposed residential properties would introduce a risk of significant adverse noise impact affecting future residents and potential noise abatement action for the Asda store.
“The continued use of the Asda site must be protected by ensuring any new adjacent housing development would not be adversely affected by noise.”
IWC: Urbanising form of development out of character in this rural location
In a decision report, planners said,
“The development would result in an urbanising form of development out of character in this rural location and thereby resulting in a harmful visual impact to the character of the area and the loss of a green buffer transitional zone between the built up area to the north and the countryside to the south.
“It is also considered that the development would result in a cramped form of development with a poor layout arrangement which would be to the detriment of the future occupiers of the dwellings.
“Furthermore, at the current time a legal agreement has not been completed to secure affordable housing contributions or to provide mitigation for recreational impacts to the Solent Special Protection Area.”
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
