Burry & Knight submit flats plan for Highcliffe to BCP Council
CONTROVERSIAL plans to demolish two houses on Highcliffe seafront and replace them with two blocks of flats have been resubmitted.
There was overwhelming opposition to the previous application by developer Burry & Knight, with more than 100 villagers attending a public meeting to voice their concerns.
That was for one four-storey block of 23 flats along with a basement car park for 44 cars at 31-33 Wharncliffe Road. This time the developer wants two three-storey buildings of 11 and eight flats respectively, with a 33-space basement car park and room for 50 bicycles.
The previous application was thrown out by BCP Council in August last year on the grounds the size of the block would result in a “visually intrusive and dominant form of development which would have an adverse impact on the character of the area”. It also said the buildings were “much larger and taller” than nearby properties and would “detract from the Sylvan character of the area”.
But these plans, says a planning and access statement by Chapman Lilly Planning, have now been changed to “make more efficient use of urban land” along with providing “modern, fit-for-purpose accommodation”.
The company says there is a “need for one, two and three-bed properties” in the Highcliffe area. It says the new building has been “carefully conceived to avoid harm to neighbour amenity and ensure that a comfortable relationship subsists”.
It further says that the “siting, scale, mass and design would not overwhelm the plot and footprint will respect the building line to Wharncliffe Road and it would not appear overbearing to its adjoining neighbours”.
The two blocks would comprise one one-bed, 11 two-bed and seven three-bed apartments, along with 50 bicycle spaces and a basement car park for 33 vehicles. Chapman Lilly says the new apartment block has a design philosophy which “works in harmony with the varied character of the locality, as well as the need set out in the NPPF to make the optimal use of land”.
A cliff stability report, the company adds, has confirmed that the existing buildings can be safely demolished and replaced with the proposed apartment buildings “without destabilising the cliffs”.
BCP Council had previously raised concerns about the quality of living accommodation in north-facing flats saying residents would “struggle” with daylight in the winter.
The developer has now changed the layout of those apartments so they all have at least two aspects and can “enjoy adequate levels of natural light”.