Flats scheme on bungalow site on Cooks Lane in Calmore rejected by NFDC
AN application for a dozen over-50s flats on the plot of one bungalow in Calmore has been refused by New Forest District Council.
The scheme was to demolish a property called Lorraine on Cooks Lane and replace it with an apartment block plus 17 parking spaces.
It attracted 19 letters of objection from neighbours, however, and was recommended for refusal by Totton and Eling Town Council.
The application from Cooks Mews Ltd said that following feedback, the scheme had been redesigned to resemble a terrace of houses when viewed from Salisbury Street and a pair of traditional dwellings when viewed from Cooks Lane.
It added that proposed building had been moved forward to limit the impact of recently protected trees and would be finished in facing brickwork, with rendered bay windows and the front entrance to be finished in sheeted zinc.
However, neighbouring residents branded the application “over development” and “out of character”, expressing concerns about the impact of extra traffic and the potential damage to protected trees.
An opponent wrote: “To go from a bungalow of three to four bedrooms to a proposed overdevelopment of 12 flats is absolutely ridiculous – it's completely out of character for the road.”
Refusing permission, NFDC planning officer James Gilfillan wrote: “The combined footprint of the block of flats, parking, drive and manoeuvring space would cover almost 100% of the site in hard surfaces.
“This would result in the site having a particularly austere and urban appearance, failing to preserve the prominence of the mature, green landscape which is a distinctive feature of the character and appearance of the area.”