Hopes for affordable housing rethink after retirement flats bid for former Lymington police station site withdrawn by Churchill Retirement Living

OPPONENTS hope the old Lymington police station will now be reconsidered for affordable housing after an unpopular bid for 32 retirement flats was withdrawn.

News that Churchill Retirement Living had pulled its application for the Southampton Road site was greeted with cautious optimism by civic group the Lymington Society, among others.

Monday’s development came just a month after the developer submitted a new proposal with new mitigation to address concerns of polluting nitrates.

Churchill declined to explain its decision to the A&T.

As reported in the A&T, the nitrates issue was a planning inspector’s sole reason to dismiss an appeal against New Forest District Council’s refusal of the previous application.

The inspector disagreed with many of the original reasons, including claims it would add too many homes for older people and hike pressure on local services.

Churchill had stated in its resubmitted application that it was in “advanced stages” of securing credits to offset the development, which would be finalised through a legal agreement.

Of 54 public comments posted on NFDC’s planning webpages for the resubmission, 53 were objections.

One submitted last Friday by a neighbour said the proposed entrance in Queen Elizabeth Avenue would bring extra traffic, posing a danger to children walking to school.

Another resident wrote: “Accommodation must be provided for younger people, especially first-time buyers so that Lymington does not become a retirement town.

“Unless housing is provided there will be a lack of workers for the town and businesses will suffer, as will the elderly who need the services of the able-bodied.”

Lymington Society chair Don Mackenzie told the A&T: “We’re surprised to hear they’ve now withdrawn this application, and this may be on the grounds that their new mitigation proposal to take agricultural land out of action on the Isle of Wight was still unlikely to satisfy the nitrate mitigations required.

“We were very disappointed that the planning inspector only dismissed the appeal on the very narrow grounds of the nitrate pollution issue.

“The inspector didn’t agree with our conclusion that the building would be too large and out of keeping near to a conservation area.”

The society has now twice written to Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones, urging her to reconsider the site’s sale.

It believes that, as a community asset, it should be used for affordable homes instead of going to the highest bidder.

“We hope that now the application has been withdrawn, the police and crime commissioner will now go ahead and look towards selling this site to a provider of affordable homes, which are needed more than retirement flats,” Mr Mackenzie continued.

“I’m quite pleased it has been withdrawn, and I hope Churchill don’t yet again come back with another proposal.”

Lymington and Pennington councillor Barry Dunning previously maintained more retirement flats were “totally unnecessary” and also wanted to see affordable homes.

More than 1,400 people had signed a New Forest West Labour Party petition against the proposal.

The current L-shaped building, dating back to about 1952, could have been replaced with a block of 21 one-bed and 11 two-bed apartments.

Communal facilities, access, 12 parking spaces and landscaping were also in the proposal.