BCP Council want to demolish two Victorian homes in Lymington Road, Highcliffe, and erect 11 affordable apartments.

TWO large Victorian homes in Highcliffe’s high street could be demolished to make way for 11 affordable apartments.

The detached two-storey properties at 260-262 Lymington Road, which are owned by BCP Council, date from the early 1800s and currently provide emergency hostel accommodation.

On behalf of the council, LMA Architects has submitted a planning application to flatten the houses and build a block of apartments in their place.

It said affordable housing across the BCP conurbation is “in vital need”, and this site offered a “sustainable location”.

LMA added: “The proposals preserve the character and appearance of the area through the sensitive siting, layout and height mass and bulk.

“They use land efficiently by creating affordable homes in a highly accessible location.”

The plans comprise five two-bedroom flats, five three-bedroom and one four-bedroom.

In keeping with BCP Council’s policy of not providing car parking with new-build flats where possible, there would be storage only for 24 bicycles.

A pre-application appraisal by a planning officer said there were “strong concerns” over the plan with regard to footprint, scale and design of the building.

But LMA said these had now been addressed in a revised design proposal.

The front of the building will now be two-and-a-half storeys in height, and the eaves and ridge height will be “comparable” to that of the neighbouring Globe Inn.

LMA says the building will be “built to the highest energy-efficient standards and will utilise Passiv Haus principles, with high levels of insulation.