COUNCIL REFUSES PLAN TO BUILD A HOUSE WITHIN THE GROUNDS OF NEWPORT CEMETERY

Plans to build a house within the grounds of an Isle of Wight cemetery have been refused. A 2-bed chalet bungalow was proposed for behind the wall of Newport Cemetery, on Fairlee Road. It would have sat between existing homes,  on the garden of the cemetery’s lodge. Last week, Isle of Wight Council planning officers rejected the plans, saying the house would be “cramped and contrived” and the area inside the cemetery would be overdeveloped. Concerns had also been raised by the bereavement service, about the impact construction would have on funerals – the site is located close to the cemetery’s entrance. This is the second time the proposal has been refused, the first being in 2022 – although officers recognised the latest scheme was for a smaller building. Officers said the property would be out of character and have a detrimental impact on the neighbouring heritage assets – the lodge, gateway and part of the cemetery’s boundary wall – which are locally listed. In their report, officers said while some architectural details had been replicated in the proposed house, many had not, and it would appear as a modern addition, at odds with the Victorian lodge. They said the lodge has already been negatively impacted by a house built next to it, in the 1990s. Another building would only “serve to worsen the situation rather than preserve or improve it,” officers said.