This post relates to a planning application for land adjacent to 27 Emsworth Road. The site lies between Baden Powell House and The Wheelwright’s Arms, tucked behind the billboard, which was to remain in place!
This application was originally submitted in December 2022, following an earlier, similar application in 2010 which had been refused. Along with a number of others, HCS objected to the application concluding that:
“The present applicant made a previous application in 2010 that was refused. We can’t see that this application offers any improvement on that one, nor will two poorly located studio flats make any significant inroads into the council’s housing targets.”
In June 2023 the application was refused by HBC, sensibly we and other objectors thought. That, however, was not the end of the story. The owner of the site, to general dismay, decided to appeal the decision. After a lengthy delay, the appeal decision was recently published and to everyone’s relief, the appeal had been refused.
The concluding paragraph of the inspector’s reasoning states:
“Therefore, for the reasons given above the proposed development would fail to provide appropriate outlook, access to natural light and external space for future occupants of the proposed gf apartment, which cumulatively would have a significantly detrimental impact on their living conditions. Accordingly, it would fail to comply with CS Policy CS16 insofar as it seeks to create places where people want to live.”
We sincerely hope that this refusal will be good for morale amongst HBC’s hard-worked planning officers, while at the same time discouraging developers from submitting poor quality applications and unjustified appeals.
Havant Civic Society 