A DEVELOPER'S proposal to build new homes and an access route onto Weymouth's Curtis Fields estate has been slammed by the town council.
As reported, Betterment Properties has submitted plans to knock down a large house at 93 Lanehouse Rocks Road, to be replaced with nine new dwellings and a highways junction and access into the Curtis Fields development.
The houses, a mixture of two-bed and three-bed properties, would be built on three sections of land, one set of two houses and one of four houses facing Lanehouse Rocks Road and a set of three houses with vehicle parking just off the proposed road.
But at Weymouth Town Council's recent Planning and Licensing Committee meeting, councillors unanimously objected to the plans on the grounds of highway design and safety; local flooding issues, and the lack of assessment of impact on nearby roads.
Councillor Gill Taylor said the proposed road access to the site is "concerning" and that the plans make no mention of traffic lights at the junction. "There is no mention of the gyratory that Dorset Council has put in to reduce pollution on Boot Hill," she added.
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As reported, heavy vehicles travelling from Dorchester to Portland are now being signposted via Lanehouse.
The developer was praised for including electric vehicle charging points - but cllr Taylor added that it is "lip service" and said the houses should be carbon-zero - and also raised concerns that surface water running off the site could exacerbate existing flood problems on nearby streets, as drains cannot cope.
The committee also has major concerns over loss of wildlife habitats.
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Said cllr Taylor, who lives near the site; "For the last 40 years since I've lived near that house, I've always had bats in the summer - there were none this year. I've also had badgers in my garden every year - I've seen no badgers or any evidence of them in my garden this year. Why oh why are they allowed to clear an area like that before they did the ecological assessment? Unless developers start taking environment and global warming seriously, where the hell are we going?"
Councillor David Harris concurred, adding that traffic proposals are "totally inadequate." "They haven't taken into account the fact that road is going to become the main road for heavy vehicles coming from Dorchester to Portland," he said.
Councillor Lucy Hamilton said: "Of course we need new houses but we need new houses that people can afford to buy - I don't think we should just be building houses at any cost. I'm particularly concerned at the clearance of the site - all applications are meant to have a net biodiversity gain; I'm not seeing any meaningful attempts to safeguard wildlife going forward."
The town council is a consultee in the planning process - Dorset Council has overall decision making powers. To find out more or comment on the proposals visit planning.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk reference P/FUL/2021/04774
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