Ringwood Town Council set to review neighbourhood plan after Crest Nicholson awarded permission for 443-home development at Moortown Lane
A TOWN council has been forced to review its neighbourhood plan after New Forest District Council approved a controversial 443-home development which went against it.
As reported in the A&T, Crest Nicholson’s hybrid application for the site off Moortown Lane in Ringwood was approved last November after it was previously deferred by NFDC’s planning committee to allow for further discussion with the town council.
Ringwood Town Council – which will meet on Friday to discuss changes – said at the time its neighbourhood plan had been ignored by the developer, which sought full permission for 150 homes and outline permission for up to 293. Of the properties, 133 would be affordable.
The land, about 29 hectares, had been earmarked for development in NFDC’s Local Plan.
After an initial meeting with the town council, the developer revised its plans slightly, agreeing to boost the number of two-bed homes to address concerns over a lack of smaller dwellings.
However, the town council remained unhappy about access to the site and the delivery of a series of connecting roads to Crow Lane and Wellworthy Way as development progressed and properties are sold.
It was also unhappy with a lack of first homes, insufficient alternative natural recreational green space, and the size of properties, some of which would be two-and-a-half and three storeys high.
Members of the town council will discuss revisions to its plan at a meeting on Friday. A report explains modifications relate to clarification over the meaning of ‘small dwellings’, and the inclusion of a standard design tool for creating all developments and not just those with 10 or more properties.
Changes are also proposed to the foreword of the Ringwood Neighbourhood Plan to provide an option for additional guidance documentation to be provided to assist with the application of policies.
If members agree, the modified plan will be submitted to the district council and New Forest National Park Authority for approval.
