Planning permission is being sought to build up to 163 new homes and a number of new offices and industrial units on farmland on the outskirts of Cowes.
The applicants, Mr and Mrs Sam Biles, are seeking outline permission from the Isle of Wight Council to build on 12 hectares of green space at Somerton Farm off Newport Road, behind Cliftongrade scrapyard and south of Somerton Industrial Park.
Somerton Farm has been owned by the Biles Family for 3 generations and for over 70 years, having been purchased by Harold Biles in the early 1950s. It continues to be used for low-key farming, with operations having been scaled back in the early 2000s.
Under the proposals, a mix of properties would be built alongside 4,200sqm of employment floor space comprising of offices, industrial and storage units. 35% of the new homes would be provided as ‘affordable homes’ with the balance of affordable housing split on a 70:30 ratio between social rented and shared ownership.
Initial suggestions are that a total of 6x 1-bed, 75x 2-bed, 67x 3-bed and 15x 4-bed properties would be built, of which 6x 1-bed, 35x 2-bed and 16x 3-bed would be considered affordable units. All of the rental and affordable units would be grouped together at the northern end of the site.
If the scheme was to go ahead 2 new road junctions would be created from Newport Road; 1 entering the northern end of the site near BAE Systems and the other entering from the southern end, roughly between Cliftongrade and Northwood Business Park.
Documents submitted to the local authority suggest this scheme could be the tip of the iceberg with the potential to build even more houses in ‘future phases’. This could be on 26 hectares of land between this development and the Cowes-Newport cycle path, surrounding Bottom Copse, Calving Close Copse and Simmington Copse.
Locals have until 4th November to comment on the plans, with a decision set to be made by the end of the year.
163 new houses etc on top of the 150 that were approved in April just round the corner!
Where are the extra Doctors and Dentist coming from to look after all these people.
Cowes Medical Centre struggle with what they have to cover now without adding more to there lists, and as for Dentists, I met a chap the other day on the ferry who was having to travel to Lymington for dental treatment.
Employment space would be useful if there were likely to be any take-up, but current economic prospects make that unlikely. Without employment, not much demand for “affordable” housing, so guress what, they’ll build yet more mansions to hasten the join-up with Medham. Methinks Mr Biles just wants to raise the price of his land.
What is happening to the Harrison estate down-river???
Never mind farming for food production, let’s build houses for people who will have few occupation opportunities and will be a further drain on very limited social services and even poorer healthcare.
only 163 the island needs 1000 + council homes
Why the hell they building more houses? How can we have homeless people to attack and hate. If there is enough housing stock so that prices fall enough so young men can get on the housing ladder instead of being force to live on the streets with the men that have been pushed out of their home by their cheating wives.
Alright if you’re a woman, you always win. Labour made being a single mum a career choice. Free money and housing with no job needed. And it you don’t want that, just go to the pub and there will be a long line of men willing to give you a home.
Men on the other hand, we’re disposable, second class gender.
Lizzy the Truss said to Nick Robinson on Radio 4 this morning that ‘she thinks how homes are built are wrong and rather than centrally directed; wants to remove Top Down Housing Targets; wants development with local consent rather than centrally driven targets’.
I suppose it’ll now come down to what is defined by “local consent”.
By village, by town or by county. I wonder if our Planners are awake to any of this as they push on with their Island Plan housing shambles.
dont worry about housing better build nuclear shelters if Putin carry’s on
Come friendly Sarmats,spare one for Newport council offices when finished with Westminster.
At least now, if London is hit, we can expect few British casualties.
Greenfield needs to remain GREEN …..
If our councillors stopped faffing about and bickering about building on the island we may !!!!! be able to stop all these unnecessary builds ….
Well you have to hope ….
Or we are doomed to the sprawling concrete jungle jigsaw spiralling out of control…
And that’s without are crap infrastructure etc etc…..
Just say no …..
Money grabbing “farmers”, should be made to sell their land to the council at agricultural land prices, council then made to build proper affordable homes on said land. Green land is green land even if they intentionally let it get run down in order to make a killing.