Over 60s flats' plans rejected (From Witney Gazette)

Over 60s flats' plans rejected

2:54pm Friday 10th February 2006 in Witney By Andrew Alexander

A DEVELOPER is appealing to the Government after plans for 106 flats for the elderly in Witney town centre and 42 flats in Carterton town centre were turned down.

McCarthy & Stone wanted to build 36 sheltered apartments for the over-60s on land facing on to the Leys recreation ground, and 70 at the new Bridge Street Mill development, backing on to Bridge Street.

A planning committee decided the proposal for the site at the Leys, at present occupied by a bungalow between Poundstretcher and the Buttercross Works, would make redeveloping the whole site in the future difficult.

The design of the three-storey block would, councillors thought, damage the character of the area, and would mean cutting down a number of protected trees.

It was also decided the next-door businesses would make life unpleasant for tenants, while Witney Town Council pointed out that the proximity of Henry Box School and the skate park, as well as fairs and circuses on the recreation ground, might disturb elderly residents. Four letters of objection were sent to the district council, criticising, among other things, the provision of parking. The plans include 13 parking spaces for the 36 apartments.

Leys resident Anne Dossett-Davies, 70, said: "A lot of people feel it will be a bit of an eyesore, but my main concern is the traffic. With all those people, there's going to be a lot more cars, and it's already practically impossible to get out of our house. It's going to make it even more dangerous for people on the Leys. I'm amazed there hasn't been an accident already."

'A lot of people feel it will be a bit of an eyesore, but my main concern is the traffic'

Anne Dossett-Davies

The Bridge Street Mill site, on land accessed from the new bridge off Witan Way, already has planning consent for 20 houses. Instead McCarthy & Stone want to build 70 sheltered apartments, with accommodation for a manager and 24 parking spaces. The lowlands planning committee refused, saying the application could only be considered if the developer offered to build some affordable housing, which is particularly in demand for older people. The committee also concluded changes would be needed to make the car park less dominant, and to stop residents overlooking other properties.

Following the appeal by McCarthy & Stone, the Secretary of State for the Environment has appointed an inspector, who will hold a public inquiry into the Leys application at the district council offices at Woodgreen, Witney, on Wednesday, March 22, at 10am. A date for an inquiry into the Bridge Street application has yet to be set. Anyone may attend the inquiries and give their views at the inspector's discretion.

McCarthy & Stone is appealing also against the decision by WODC to reject its plans for 42 flats in Carterton town centre. The company recently launched two appeals against decisions by the same planning committee, when it turned down proposals for 106 retirement flats at two different locations in Witney town centre (see Page 9). At Alvescot Road, in Carterton, McCarthy & Stone hoped to demolish the premises of several local businesses, including Dowley's Garage and the shop Party Zone, to build a three-storey block of 42 flats, with 16 parking spaces. The application was turned down at a meeting of the lowlands planning committee in October last year, when councillors described it as 'a cramped, over-dominant, and incongruous overdevelopment of the site'.

As well as criticising the building's looks and size, committee members said the nearby social centre on Browne's Lane, which has a 2am licence, could make life unpleasant for tenants, and said the developer should provide either affordable housing or some other benefit to the area.

Council officers noted that the plan was a 'standardised design that pays no regard to its context', and said the impression was reinforced because the application made several references to the 'city centre'.

Brian Crossland, mayor of Carterton, said the town council had mixed feelings on the development when consulted by the district council.

He said: "There was a range of views, I think there was a concern more about what it looked like rather than anything else. It was a bit stark and not very appealing.

"There's some historical interest in Dowley's Garage because the facade was one of the dispersal hangars during the war when the airfield was bombed, they built one or two hangars around the town to hide the aircraft in. There was some concern about the loss of the businesses, but it was recognised that several of them own the land, and they wanted to sell, they weren't being forced out.

"Clearly there's a demand for this type of housing."

There is also some confusion over the rights of use of Browne's Lane, which would provide access for tenants in the proposed block of flats. The town council believes the road is still owned by Homesteads, the company started by town founder, William Carter, and so access should not be taken for granted.

A time and place for the public inquiry have yet to be set.