Part of a former dairy farm on the edge of Thorley and Wellow could host 16 new properties and provide land for the much-talked-about cycle path from Newport to the West Wight.
The site for the homes at Lee Farm on Wellow’s Main Road would see a number of barns and storage building would be demolished.
Submitted by current Yarmouth mayor Steve Cowley and his company, Cowley and Cowley, the development would have six two-bed, nine three-bed and one four-bed houses built to reflect a farmhouse and its surrounding buildings, according to planning documents.
Derelict site
Agent, Andrew White Planning Consultancy, says the farmyard site has been derelict and the barns and buildings are in various states of repair.
Despite some of the proposed area being farmland, all of the site is technically previously developed, or brownfield, land as determined by the Planning Inspectorate.
Mr White said,
“Although Wellow is not a particularly sustainable location for new housing, there is a clear requirement for local community housing in this area and delivering this on land that has been developed would be of benefit to the local area.”
Land for the cycle track
Sitting on the edge of Wellow and Thorley, the applicants say they would make a 1.75km strip of land available for the West Wight Greenway (cycle track) while also proposing to undertake the work associated with delivering surfacing, fencing and gates.
Housing developments on the Island, which provide more than ten houses, either have to provide a proportion of properties as affordable or contribute payment to put affordable housing elsewhere.
A ‘modest financial contribution’ towards off-site affordable housing
Mr White says, through the findings of a viability report, the development should be able to make a ‘modest financial contribution’ towards off-site affordable housing.
A bungalow already built at the site is included in the plans, changing the use from a holiday dwelling into a permanent home.
Have your say
You can view proposals, 21/00684/FUL, on the council’s planning register. Comments will be accepted until 17th May.
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: Daniel McCullough under CC BY 2.0
