10 affordable new homes could replace a former social services building and police station in Newport, under plans submitted by the local authority itself.
The Isle of Wight Council is looking to demolish a redundant Social Services Headquarters on Fairlee Road, and replace it with ‘small and affordable’ 2-bedroom apartments within a single structure.
The existing building, which was once the Island’s main police station until the early 1970s, is at risk of becoming derelict and has ‘ongoing issues’ with dry rot, a statement submitted by County Hall says.
The statement adds:
“This site is part of the approximately 60 hectares of Island brownfield land suitable for redevelopment. As this site is council owned, funding from the Brownfield Land Release Fund will be utilised to allow the council to clear this site.
“As brownfield land can be expensive to prepare for house building, resulting in sites sat empty and potentially eyesores for local communities, this funding is designed to assist in the clearing empty buildings, former car parks and industrial land to make way for new homes.
“Our proposal will provide accommodation of good design, appropriate and reflective of the area and meets the National Planning Policy Framework.
“The proposal does not seek to overpopulate the site, but instead provide necessary housing within an environment that will benefit the residents, allowing appropriate parking spaces, bike storage and communal amenity space.”
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If approved, the scheme will be the biggest change for the site in over 50 years.
A public consultation on application 25/01278/OUT ends on 17th October and a decision is scheduled for 19th December.
Does affordable new homes mean cheap rents for social housing
tenants, or cheaper properties to purchase.
I thought the island was crying out for cheap rented
accommodation.
Since this is a council owned site and a brownfield site it is an ideal spot to build the properties described and for them to be retained as local authority housing stock and made available for rent at affordable cost. Safeguards need to be put in place to avoid selling off such property at huge discount or selling the site to developers who will screw the cost up and out of the reach of those less well off. Neither should they be able to be sublet for profit. It is only by reastablishing a proper local authority housing stock that we reverse the atrocity cauused by right to buy coupled with no new investment in local authority housing.
what about the overgrown eyesaw thats the main entrance to Newport opposite cineworld or the old polars site at staplers do something to them first