A long-abandoned house once part of the Camp Hill prison estate could be pulled down to make way for nine houses.
The Firs, on Postern Road in Parkhurst, is directly opposite the now-empty Camp Hill prison and was thought to be the home of the chief medical officer.
Nine three-bedroom homes
Now, Waterlooville-based Colwell Bay Developments are seeking permission to build nine three-bedroom houses.
Planning agents on behalf of the developers, Nova Architectural, said the current building has no particular architectural merit.
Since 2018, the site has been subject to multiple planning applications — and undergone clearance works to make it ready for development.
IWC refusal overturned
The Isle of Wight council refused plans in 2018 for 11 houses on the site and again in May 2019 for six houses.
The 2019 refusal, however, was overturned by the government’s Planning Inspectorate six months later and outline permission was granted.
The proposed houses would all be two storeys in height, but five would also have attic rooms.
Broadly in line with existing properties
In planning documents, the agents say the houses are broadly in line with existing properties in the surrounding areas and are not over-dominant in their scale and mass.
A large percentage of grassland has been retained, it says, to ensure the site does not appear overdeveloped.
A cul-de-sac would be built behind the first row of properties to access the other houses, ‘making the most efficient use of the site’.
View the plans
You can view the plans, 22/02287/FUL, on the Isle of Wight council’s planning register.
The public consultation runs until 3rd March.
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
