Here's Why Planners Turned Down Major Island Housing Development

Planners have revealed why they turned down a major planning application for 27 houses next to a large Isle of Wight village.

County Hall refused Colwell Bay View Ltd’s outline application for housing with a vehicle access on agricultural land off Freshwater’s Colwell Road on seven grounds.

They relate to the environment, ‘inadequate’ submitted information, affordable housing and health care infrastructure.

Explaining the refusal, officers wrote:

“The development would result in the loss of an important gap within an area where the farmland forms an important green lung between developed areas and the coast, the loss of which would harm the visual amenity of the landscape character of the area.

“On site affordable housing provision is required from this development proposal… the applicant has not signed a planning obligation under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to secure the required-on site affordable housing provision.”

They also cited ‘insufficient’ submitted information to determine a variety of environmental impacts and show that ‘flood risk and surface water drainage’ will be dealt with effectively.

In addition, County Hall pointed to the lack of legal agreements to provide a contribution towards primary health care infrastructure and an ‘appropriate Solent Recreation Mitigation Strategy contribution’ to mitigate potential impacts on the Solent Special Protection Area, a nature conservation zone.

Consultancy Plan Research said the applicant’s plans would ‘go some way’ towards providing ‘much-needed housing’ in Freshwater in a Planning, Design and Access Statement.

The document stated 35 per cent of the proposed homes would be ‘affordable housing’, with the scheme also delivering ‘significant wildlife enhancements’ and ‘public footway improvements’.