Freshwater’s Memorial Hall was packed out on Tuesday evening for an impassioned discussion on the proposed mixed-use development at Heathfield Road. Spectators and participants were overflowing out of the entrance to the village hall to listen to and contribute to Freshwater Parish Council’s public meeting on the Heathfield Farm Camp Site planning application. The event consisted mainly of contributions from the floor which were overwhelmingly critical of Stephen Hucklesby’s proposal. His proposal outlines 69 housing units, retail floorspace, road infrastructure and parking provisions. The application’s Design and Access statement claims a minimum 35% of the units will be affordable to comply with local planning policy. Heathfield Farm Camp Site is bordered by Heathfield Road to the east and the A3054 Colwell Road to the north and west. Attendees raised a wide variety of concerns including whether the proposed housing would be ‘genuinely affordable’, second home owners buying up the developed units, the erosion of greenfield land and biodiversity, harm to the west of the Island’s tourism industry and a lack of employment opportunities for the development’s residents. 
Parish Councillor Daniel James said:
“Where it is a private sector developer they’re obviously going to go for the maximum return on investment. “So if you want to have more affordable housing then please don’t look to the private sector to do that.”
Those who spoke also flagged noise and light pollution, possible drug and alcohol anti-social behaviour, the geological suitability of the site, drainage and archaeology as issues. One resident commented:
“The Isle of Wight Council needs to be reminded that Freshwater is a village – it’s just turning into one big urban sprawl”.
In a moment of heightened tensions, a woman questioned the coherence and representativeness of the parish council. Chair of the meeting and the parish council’s planning committee, Councillor Anne Bamford, interrupted the question and told the woman her question was not relevant. The woman continued speaking and after being asked to leave was eventually led out of the hall, with Cllr Bamford threatening to call the police. The parish council is expected to release a statement on the planning issues.
Nothing to do with meeting housing need.
This is all to do with making the developer a tidy profit.
Err .., but they are building houses, so presumably some people need them.
Those who spoke also flagged noise and light pollution, possible drug and alcohol anti-social behaviour,
Just like living next to the homeless shelter on Pan then and what have the council and police done about that NOTHING
Future generations of people are going to have to live somewhere.
Fair enough when it was just our own people as our responsibility to home them. Not so the third world arrivals who can and do breed faster than we can build for.
As accurate a statement as will be found,
Some arguments are just absolute lols.
> second home owners buying up the developed units
Huh? If this is an obstacle then we should never build anything ever ANYWHERE in the country because that’s always the possibility?
> possible drug and alcohol anti-social behaviour
What kind of argument is this? Because this can happen anywhere. Heck, CURRENT residents can also behave like this! There is a _possibility_!
> lack of employment opportunities for the development’s residents
Feels like ADULTS can decide for themselves if they want to live somewhere and commute to work elsewhere or not. Market price will reflect that. Plus, it’s 2024, remote work?
Trouble is,freshwater and totland parish council is full of out of touch old tories,and freemasons
all this meeting was about,was ticking a box,and paying lip service to residents to voice their concerns,and the woman that chaired it,is abhorrent,just like the idiot that is jarman,the closet tory behind her.
remember the chaos he caused last year in the chambers to oust the council leader,just to stoke his ego,another abhorrent human.
regardless of protest,this will go ahead sadly.
money talks
“So if you want to have more affordable housing then please don’t look to the private sector to do that.”
Affordable housing can be built if it is a condition of granting permission to build, which is the council’s policy. But really developers should be encouraged to build flats. Young people on the island keep moaning that they can’t afford to buy a house but they don’t need a house and should be able to buy an affordable flat or rent one with suitable rent controls. Why build affordable property just for people who can’t earn a decent wage. That is unfair on those who work hard and even take on second jobs to buy a home.
There are close to 2500 homes for sale in the Isle of Wight listed on Rightmove currently.
If the proposed develop were all to be “Council houses” as it was in the the major house building after the war then go for it, but it never will be so it is just a big earner for Captiva.
Most of the properties for sale on Rightmove are currently occupied so I really don’t see your point.
Fill them with migrants, that will shut the locals up
Lol
Vote Labour
Threats to call the police, people being removed from the meeting, all for questioning the role of the parish council. What price democracy ?
Hopefully locals will be organising to kick the lot out next May. Useless, self serving, playing at being politicians.
West Wight helped to elect a Labour Government. 1.5 million houses in 5 years – 300k per year – 882 per day. That’s one Pennyfeather housing estate somewhere in the Country every day.
Like it or not some of the house building is going to happen on the Island.
I guess your MP was not there to support his Government’s house building policy?
All people had to do was to vote Reform.
That way no legal immigrants and no locals would have suffered and far fewer houses would have needed to have been built.
Problem is many people here are slow minded, and wrongly assume that just because a home is not filled with dinghy contents, that such never ending arrivals doesn’t increase building here.
Wrong. For residents on the mainland displaced or sick of living amongst such, move to places such as here to escape. Thus more of our countryside is lost due to daily dinghies contents.
No Island is immune directly or indirectly.
You had a chance to vote to limit such but choose the very worst party. Live with your naive self.