Future of Warblington Road site in Emsworth unclear as residents ‘disappointed’ that low density scheme is rejected by council

Lawyer Charles Glanville hoped to build a small number of ‘legacy’ dwellings on his family’s property, the land surrounding Fowley Cottage on Warblington Road.

However, Havant Borough Council said that due to planning guidance, such an area would be expected to accommodate more homes than the small number outlined in Charles’s proposal.

The planning application was rejected on May 27 after what Charles says has been a long ‘uphill battle’ with Havant Borough Council wanting to put in many more dwellings than those outlined in his low density plans.

Charles said: ‘It seems the council is not remotely interested in what residents think.

‘All they are concerned about is their wretched policy on density.

‘They clearly want us to pull down the existing family home and tennis court and add in this land, so we can get 20 plus houses or flats on the site that they demand.’

Residents from the area say that they are disappointed that the application was rejected, and that any plans for greater density housing would not be suitable for the environment at the site.

Gareth Price, a resident of Warblington Road, said: ‘It’s disappointing. I’m not sure what the council’s other plans are.

‘I thought Charles’ plan was a good compromise and Warblington Road is quite well developed.

‘I think it might set up a precedent for residents to urbanise their gardens which would be a shame because it’s a really pretty area. High density housing would be really unfortunate.

‘It’s a place that you aspire to live in. I don’t want to exclude anybody else but there’s just a handful of green spaces and when you start building on them, what precedent is set?’

Graham Wingate, who has lived locally for 40 years, went along to the meeting but says he was not allowed to speak out in favour of the plan.

He said: ‘It was a real joke. It was a slam dunk and was always going to be this way.

‘It is just madness to put more houses in, ignoring the environment itself there.’

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A spokesperson for the Havant Borough Council planning team said: ‘National planning guidance, the adopted Havant Local Plan, the emerging Local Plan and the emerging Emsworth Neighbourhood Plan all require developers to make the best use of available land.

‘As the council is expected to meet certain numbers of new homes every year if a developer does not make best use of available land, those homes would need to be found elsewhere in the borough.

‘Development in this area would normally be expected to accommodate more homes than the few, very large, dwellings that were proposed.

‘Of course, any new proposal for this site would need to respect the character of the area as well as making best use of the available land.

‘Hopefully, pre-application discussions will help the developer and the council achieve a satisfactory development of the site.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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