Plan to build 19 affordable homes at Gore Road on New Milton greenbelt

AN application to build 19 affordable homes has been submitted for greenbelt land on the edge of New Milton.

Hannah Homes Ltd wants permission from New Forest District Council for a site south of Milton Barns, off Gore Road.

The scheme is for five one-bedroom flats and 10 two-bedroom houses plus four three-bedroom, with 30 parking spaces.

The application argued the development should be allowed as it “would provide affordable housing to meet an identified need of local people” and as such it should be treated as a “rural exception site”.

The Lytchett Minster-based developer said the “proposed housing mix is aimed enabling a mix of singles, couples and families to gain access to affordable housing and get onto the property ladder, who may not be able to otherwise. In these respects, the scheme has clear social benefits”.

Once completed, the homes would be made available either to a housing association or NFDC to “ensure that the benefits of affordable housing would be retained in the development in perpetuity for future occupiers”.

The Grade II listed Barn restaurant is next to the site but would continue to operate as a commercial business, Hannah Homes Ltd added.

The two-storey buildings would be in scale with the restaurant, the application said, and would not “dominate or compete with the barn building but will be viewed as a sympathetic background development”.

It highlighted how a large area of land to the east and west of the site has been allocated for at least 160 new homes in NFDC’s Local Plan, which sets out development policies outside the national park.

As the site is close to facilities and services of New Milton, there were “clear environmental benefits” as residents would be able to walk, cycle or use public transport.

It said the application was put forward after consultation with NFDC and town council.

A decision is expected in March after the deadline for public comments on 14th January.