Redrow Homes row back on promise to build eatery and gallery as Lymington Shores becomes 'ghost town'

A BID by a developer to turn space for an art gallery and restaurant at Lymington Shores into nine flats has been refused – despite some residents living there pleading for it to be approved.

Apartment owners at the former Webb’s chicken factory site wrote to New Forest District Council to allow the plan, which had been part of the original scheme by Redrow approved more than 10 years ago.

In 17 letters of support, they argued the empty units had become an “eyesore”, subject to vandalism, and a “magnet to disruptive youths”.

Many also expressed their anger with Redrow for not finishing the development for 168 properties which was allowed by NFDC in 2012.

One said living there was a “nightmare”, with another saying: “What we have now is a ghost area without life or benefit to anyone.”

One couple accused NFDC and some locals of having “historical prejudices” against Redrow and Lymington Shores.

They claimed: “There is absolutely no chance of a new restaurant being opened, and with empty shops in Lymington there is no market for any of this development.”

Instead they said the flats should be allowed so Lymington Shores could be completed.

But NFDC disagreed, saying Redrow should stick with its original promises of providing an art gallery and restaurant for the town.

It said that the company had not “provided firm evidence” that the commercial units had been marketed fully or that they “cannot be let”.

The flats would have been created in what is presently an empty “gallery and commercial block” and would have included shops.

Redrow, which blamed the pandemic for the failure to let the block, wanted to turn it into two one-bedroom flats, six two-bedroom and one three-bedroom.

Cllr Jacqui England, Lymington Town member of the district council, told the A&T: “I’m glad that the planning authority have actually become very, very forceful on this and I hope that same thing will happen to the Redrow bridge.

“If people put in planning applications, they should actually fundamentally stick to what they’ve requested in the first place, and not change the parameters when they decide that they want to make more money elsewhere.”

It is the latest attempt by the company to row back on what it initially promised when the development was approved.

One key part was to be a £1m pedestrian bridge over the railway line to the adjacent train station.

The company has tried to drop the idea but under the present agreement with NFDC, 17 of the 168 flats at the site cannot be sold until the bridge is built.

One angry Lymington Shores resident wrote to NFDC saying they believed the row over the bridge was the real reason for the application being turned down.

They said: “Stop using our homes as leverage. It is not the builders you are hurting but the residents of this development.

“Stop using our homes as your weapon. We need to have our development finished.”

There were 11 objections to the commercial space being used as flats.

One said: “Lymington residents and visitors should be able to take advantage of riverside locations – and a cafe or restaurant (at sensible lease values) would benefit everyone.”