Outline permission is being sought to build new homes next to the local green and play area in the West Wight village of Wellow. Nottinghamshire-based Redmer Developments is asking the Isle of Wight Council to prove a planning application seeking outline consent for a residential development, and the access to it, on land adjacent to Wellow Fields on Main Road. The 1.79 hectare field is currently used for agriculture and is owned by by the directors of West Wight Alpacas. In documents submitted to the local authority, it is stated that around 16 dwellings could be built including a mix of chalet bungalows, bungalows and 2-storey dwellings, with 50% being classed as affordable housing. This would sit alongside an open space and wilderness areas to deliver environmental enhancements. 
According to a design and access statement, it is acknowledged that the surrounding houses differ significantly in style, scale and layout. Furthermore, the site is hindered by a main sewer easement which needs to be avoided when constructing the new dwellings. If approved, the scheme can progress to a reserved matters application which will flesh out the specifics, such as the number, positioning and style of the houses. Public consultation on the plans runs until Friday 22nd December, with a decision due to be made by the Council by February 2024. UPDATE Thursday – Neil Payne, who is 1 of the landowners involved, has said in a statement:
“The land does not belong to West Wight Alpacas in Wellow as has been stated in some press releases this morning and has never been used by West Wight Alpacas in Wellow for grazing. It does belong to a consortium of two of the directors of West Wight Alpacas and the owners of Redmer Developments a Hertfordshire based company. “We were approached some time ago concerning this field which for various reasons was not suitable to be used by the West Wight Alpaca business. The scheme proposed by Redmer developments includes 50% affordable housing which will be a mixture of affordable to rent, which we are working with Vectis housing on and affordable for sale. “We were insistent at the early stages that the scheme should be 50% affordable and not the standard 35% because we have adult children that want to live in the village as well as having a number of young employees who need housing locally which is just not available. You cannot insist that rural workers have to live in large developments away from the countryside or be forced to live in town in converted High Street flats. It is also important for people living in the countryside to have decent amounts of garden amenity area which is not available with many in town or large developments and a feature of this scheme is space. “Affordable housing is also not just about young people but can be for older people wanting to downsize to more appropriately sized dwellings that are highly efficient, and we have asked that all of the properties on this proposed development should be targeting an EPC of A with renewable energy options such as solar panels and batteries. The site also has a large area which will be a wild area with community gardens which will be put into a trust that we have asked the Parish council to be involved with. “This site was selected in the 2018 SHLAA process as suitable for development which was undertaken by the Isle of Wight Council. “We met with the Chair and Vice Chair of the parish council to talk to them about our plans, Shalfleet Parish council are a progressive group that recognise the need for affordable housing within the Parish and whether as a group they support this application or not we have agreed that we will work with them going forward and listen to any concerns they have. We have also assured them that the affordable properties will be available to local people first. “Any profit that we might make personally from this scheme will be ploughed in to improving the West Wight Alpacas business. “Personally, I struggle with the attitude of not wanting to provide housing for people young or old in a location where they want to live that might just need a helping hand in life and that includes hard working young people that can’t afford to get on the housing ladder. There are 2,666 families on the Isle of Wight on the Home Finders scheme some of whom are being housed off the Island because of the extreme shortage of property availability on the Island. This application just helps redress that balance in a very small way. “Both my wife and I are strong believers in LHFLP (Local Homes For Local People)”.
Shame on you West Wight Alpacas
The Christmas distraction tactic. Payne always was a property developer. Anyways Steve Cowley’s Lee Farm is already ear marked to deliver all the local needs. He’s even overseeing a survey to prove it.
Read it. It’s not West Wight Alpacas land.
The story says It does belong to a consortium of two of the directors of West Wight Alpacas {WWA} and the owners of Redmer Developments.
‘Two of the directors’.
Looking at WWA on company house there’s only two directors, husband and wife Neil and Michelle Payne who own WWA. If you search their names on company house you go down a rabbit warren and end up at Redmer Developments.
So they own WWA plus they own the land next to it but the land also has a sleeping partner, which they are involved with.
It’s a bit like you owning your house plus your neighbours house, but your neighbour still owns a share of his house.
It stated that in the main write-up, which I responded to . Not the follow – up statement
Contacted them earlier.They didn’t enjoy the experience.
Nottinghamshire Based Developer. Yet another mainland developer trying to make a quick buck by concreting over the Island. That 50% affordable will be reduced once permission is approved.
For gods sake lets make a stand and say NO
According to the County Press, they are “Hertfordshire-based”. Companies House aren’t listing them. So there are a few questions open here.
P.S. There is a connection to “Mall Developments (I.O.W.) Limited”. Neil Robert Payne is also a director in this company, along with a rather long list of other enterprises.
Beware of the term chalet bungalows, they are just big housed with rooms in the roof.
Not a good idea,greed over rural beauty again,i hope this gets refused,wellow is a lovely area,and you can bet most will be sold to DFL,S before they are built
Nottinghamshire-based Redmer Developments is asking the Isle of Wight Council to prove a planning application seeking outline consent for a residential development
..NO – go and build houses in nottinghamshire instead of turning up here and trying to burden islanders with more people, more pollution, more gridlock on the roads, more flooding, more pressure on infrastructure, such as hospitals/drs etc.
the council need to say no to these people who will not be living here, yet seem to think it is ok to wreck the islands green fields.
‘Dwellings’ don’t you just love this cutesey phraseology for environmental defilement ?
Good to hear, we need more rural housing
We need more rural housing for rural workers. These are going to go to geriatric incomers, 2nd homers and Airbnb investors.
More second home properties to add to the over 2,600 that the wonderful Council admit to !
1-79 ,hectare field today, how many hectares next ??????
The concrete jungle jigsaw is getting bigger …..
We need open spaces ,we need tree’s ,we don’t want rabbit hutches and concrete….
Definitely shame on the Wellow alpacas,….
Sorry to say won’t be visiting you again if this goes ahead !!!!!…
Actually, we do need more “rabbit hutches”. Affordable homes for young Island workers.
These are large detached homes.
These we don’t need. Particularly on greenfield sites.
I know, lets spend a fortune on “walk with the Alpacas” and see a new housing estate.
West Wight Alpacas will never be visited by myself or my family again, regardless if they get planning permission or not.
They obviously do not care for the island and are just out to make money out of it.
Are West Wight Alpacas going down the pan.?
Why build on a field that could be used for grazing their animals.?
Would have been better if they were to build eco holiday pods and direct the guests to eat in their café and take part in walking the animals or letting the animals roam around the pods for a close to nature experience.
But I bet they close down soon and that part also gets built upon.
Time to boycott this ‘attraction’ for ruining the countryside in the name of greed.
They’ve never grazed on it – they prefer to farm their animals out to anyone who will take them for zero cost.
He has purposely not used the land so he can get planning permission.
Him and his family always been greedy individuals.
From my understanding the owner of west Wight alpacas is a developer! Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the same owners just different company names .
This is exactly why the island should get National Park status. It would make it impossible to build on protected rural land. Are any local MP candidates pushing for this? Obviously, Bob won’t be because he kisses the asses of the developers.
Why not build on a brownfield site? Not destroying farmland when we need to become as self sufficient in food production as possible should be obvious . I also love the expression ‘affordable housing affordable to whom plus building on land to provide a wilderness area. Surely not building on agricultural land will provide a bigger green space and wilderness area.
Experience the new craze – Walking with Alpacas (around a housing estate).
Good luck to them. He doesn’t point out that the directors of WW Alpacas are him, his wife and his father. Redmer Developments is not a registered company with gov.uk so good luck finding out about them, it’s probably the same three directors.
looks great hope they are successful
He touted prefabs on the land some years ago. Then claimed he was going to sell it to ‘Dovetail back in to the business’. Then said he wanted an agricultural access when he already had one. It’s never been off the radar – the “local need” is a faux lever. If there is so much LOCAL DEMAND how come Steve Cowley, he of the progressive Shalfleet Parish Council, fail to recognise the need for affordable housing on his own development? Here… have a cycle track and follow the money!
How many second homes in Wellow?
How many non.Islander’s?
No shortage of houses just in wrong ownership.
This is happening nationwide and ruining local communities. These “dwellings” are not for the indigenous population as we are not reproducing at replacement rate. See the last 3years legal immigration figures (last year 1.2 million) plus the 10s of thousands of illegals arriving. Greed is at the bottom of this.
Marxist social engineering with a convenient mercantile element for top-cover-ie.Making a profit on the rope used to hang us with at source.Corporate Satanism essentially bolstered by council incubated freeloaders and masons.Lot of it about.
We don’t need more houses! We already had enough plus there will be more traffics if some people moving there?
So how are we gunna save the environment? The environment is more important than building houses. How about make a place for injured animals there or something?
Sorry but they are making this island more crowded plus it’s does people’s heading.
They built on Aylets farm in Brading. Merry gardens family in lake and branstone school farm. There ain’t no stopping em