The future of two housing developments on the Isle of Wight now look uncertain after a cabinet decision threw out necessary parking orders.
The Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet refused two ‘Traffic Regulation Order’ (TRO) applications at last week’s meeting, which would have seen yellow lines introduced in Freshwater and Parkhurst.
Both proposals went against a policy the cabinet approved in July, councillors said, which meant if on-street parking was lost, it must be replaced nearby.
It also said in areas of parking stress, steps must be taken to minimise the net loss of parking where possible.
Birch Close development
In Freshwater, yellow lines were needed on Birch Close, ahead of further development to ensure safety for all road users.
Conditional planning permission was granted in November to build 44 new homes — 35 per cent affordable — extending the cul-de-sac, but parking restrictions had to be imposed first.
In a report to cabinet, officers said the yellow lines at Birch Close would see a loss of four parking spaces but nearby properties have private driveways.
There were 48 objections to the Birch Close proposals but officers reported the yellow lines, if introduced, would increase visibility and regulate parking.
Horsebridge Hill
The other was on Horsebridge Hill, in Parkhurst, at the junction with Hogan Road where officers said there would also be increased visibility.
In this case, officers said there would be no net loss of parking as the TRO would be implemented after compensatory parking spaces were made available on the development site down the road.
Permission was granted for the ten-home development, which backed onto Noke Common from Hogan Road, in February 2019 after the Planning Inspectorate overturned the council’s original decision.
Planning Inspectorate protected parking for residents
The Planning Inspectorate added special conditions to the permission, officers said, to ensure no parking spaces would be lost for the residents of Horsebrige Hill at any point.
At the cabinet meeting last night, Cllr Chris Jarman said both applications were not compliant with the council’s policy so were rejected.
Both housing schemes needed the traffic regulation order approved and in place before the development could start.
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
