Decision on Fawley power station's 1,500-home redevelopment is pushed back

A DECISION on the redevelopment of Fawley power station, which includes building 1,500 new homes, has been deferred until August.

The consortium leading the near-£1bn scheme, Fawley Waterside, has already seen a decision pushed back from January until April over a string of sticking points which were raised last year by New Forest District Council and the national park authority.

Both bodies have parts of the development within their jurisdictions and are currently considering joint outline applications. Issues raised by local authority planners include the impact of the £8m upgrade of eight junctions on the A326, plus mitigating pollution from the new homes and their impact on marine habitats, and how quickly new nature sites could be delivered.

As well as 1,500 new homes, the project includes a 2,100-space underground car park, 102,600 square metres of new commercial, civic and employment space, and a boat stack. A new primary school could be built if there is enough demand.

Also proposed is public open space, a saltwater lagoon and new wild grazing land. Among the new dwellings would be about 470 affordable homes.

A further time extension has now been agreed by all three parties, with a deadline of 28th August. It is expected that this month there will be a formal submission of an amended application and a 30-day public consultation before it is considered at both authorities’ planning committees in mid to late July.

A spokesperson for Fawley Waterside told the A&T that the extension had been “no surprise” and added: “Everyone is on the same page.”

There were no financial implications to the delay, the spokesperson said, and the amendments to the application would be minor.