Gosport charity wins approval for 39 homes for over-50s

Nearly 40 apartments will be built after the Gosport charity Thorngate Churcher Trust won permission to build on a disused site on the corner of Sealark Road and Grove Road.

The 39 age-restricted units will be for the over-50s and the first 30 units will be ready for people to move in between 2023-2024.

Thorngate chief executive Anne Taylor said the charity was committed to providing quality new homes.,

She said this development would help meet rising demand from people looking for low-cost community housing in the borough.

The charity already operates 124 assisted living flats in Gosport.

Ms Taylor said these new homes will provide the opportunity for people to live independently but with the benefit of warden support, communal facilities, and landscaped grounds.

She said: ‘As a charity we have been providing homes for those in need in Gosport since 1865 and the new development means we will be able to provide even more homes for local people.’

The original proposals included just 28 homes, but this was increased in the final plans.

Gosport Borough Council’s planning committee gave the approval at a meeting earlier this month.

Some 19 people objected to the original plans, with planning officers noting some who said it was an overdevelopment of the area and was ‘not welcomed by local residents’.

Objections reduced to just 12 when amended plans were submitted.

There were concerns there would be too many vehicles linked to the properties, and an increase in traffic.

Among the others issues raised was ‘the development of a 39 dwelling residence on such a small piece of land is not in keeping with the area and will put a significant strain on the already stretched local infrastructure’.

Another concern raised the ‘loss of greenspace which is of greater concern given the last 18 months’.

The building will be two and three storeys in height, and the overall development will cover 0.32 hectares.

Gosport’s local plan allocates the area as ‘protected open space’.

Councillors approved the charity’s bid for homes at the public planning meeting.

There will be 21 parking spaces for residents.