Housing Development 'Generally Supported Locally' Says Councillor

Plans for five new ‘high quality’ houses next to a former Isle of Wight train station are facing objections but a county councillor says the bid is ‘generally supported locally’.

Applicants Stratton and Raben applied for planning permission to build five homes, classed as ‘market housing’, along with an access road, garages, parking and landscaping on land next to Station House on St Helens’s Station Road.

Agent, the Andrew White Planning Consultancy, said the development would make a ‘significant contribution to addressing the housing supply shortage’.

It would comprise two two-bedroom semi-detached houses, two four-bedroom houses and another with three bedrooms.

Plan revisions relating to trees and sewage have been submitted since the application was first brought before council officers at the end of May.

Five members of the public have come forward to oppose the proposal.

They cited concerns including the development’s ‘overbearing height’ and ‘incompatibility with local character’, wildlife, environmental and ecology impacts, ‘overlooking and privacy loss’ and an alleged clearing of a ‘large area of the site’ prior to the application in May 2023, involving the ‘felling of mature woodland’.

Disquiet was also expressed over the development’s ‘encroachment’ beyond the St Helens settlement boundary, ‘potential land contamination’ and ‘public safety’ regarding an area said to have been previously filled with waste and asbestos, a reported inaccuracy relating to a fence line and an underground gas main.

Cllr Jonathan Bacon, the Alliance Our Island county councillor for Brading and St Helens, said:

“I wish to support the concerns raised by nearby residents in respect of the height of elements of the proposed development. As stated in submitted comments this is a serious concern due to it being out of character in the area and the risk of overbearing others.

“I would ask that these comments are taken on board and amendments to the submitted application be pursued.

“More widely, as ward councillor, I can state that the application is generally supported locally or does not raise undue concern.

“However, very importantly, as put forward in a number of comments, it gives rise to the ability to improve access in the area in relation to Rights of Way etc that would benefit both the proposed new properties and the wider community.”

He went on to ask that the application’s consideration and potential conditions attached have ‘close regard’ to the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and proposals for ‘improving and linking up walking and cycling routes in the immediate area’.

The council’s public consultation on application 25/00779/FUL finishes on September 3 and a decision has been scheduled for October 7.