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Lymington Society
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Lymington Society Welcomes
Refusal of Mini Roundabout near Level Crossing
The Lymington Society today
welcomed the decision of the Planning Inspector to refuse Redrow’s Appeal
for permission to build a mini roundabout at the junction of
Whilst understanding that
this is a complex issue involving different opinions from traffic flow consultants
etc., the Society felt that on balance it supported the position of the local
authority and the traffic authority that the positioning of a mini roundabout
so close to a level crossing could be dangerous without additional controls
on the traffic. We therefore took the opportunity to attend the appeal
hearing in support of the NFDC’s stance and are pleased that the Inspector
agreed with our position.
Currently, even before
the site has been developed, long traffic jams build up on both sides of the
level crossing, which can stretch back up all Walhampton Hill and into
This increased activity
generated by future developments is very likely to result in large volumes
of traffic trying to access the site and long queues seem inevitable, which
many feel a mini roundabout would not be able to cope with. The Society
was also concerned that a mini-roundabout would pose considerable difficulties
for pedestrians and cyclists caused by the increased traffic flow on and off
the chicken factory site.
The development of the
chicken factory site is an issue that society has been involved with for many
years. This is a one-off unique opportunity to create a wonderful development
which could if handled correctly, enhance the town for decades to come.
The society originally opposed the proposal by Paxton's for the huge development
that currently has permission and which Redrow are trying to renew by the
fast track process brought in by the government to help developers during
the recession. We have objected to the renewal of this permission, which
we still feel is far too dense for the site and will produce an isolated dormitory
development, on the grounds that both circumstances and the planning regime
have changed substantially since consent was given in 2005.
The Society was pleased
to be invited to attend a recent presentation by the current owners, where
they introduced their new architects MJP Architects.
This award-winning practice
is led by Sir Richard McCormack, who presented his initial concepts for the
site to the meeting. The society welcomed the overall thrust of the
proposal, which is designed to integrate the site into the town via a feature
bridge near the railway station, which has been a key aim of the Society from
the outset.
We remain however, concerned
that these new proposals still envisage a large development with fairly large
and dominating buildings, which we feel is inconsistent with the character
and distinctiveness of the historic town at the point where it faces onto
areas of outstanding natural beauty as well as nature reserves.
We look forward to working
with all the stakeholders involved in examining this proposal and will try
and ensure that a high quality development is produced, which makes the most
of this fantastic location.
Speaking today, Don Mackenzie,
Press Spokesman for the society said:
We
welcome the decision by the Planning Inspector to refuse the appeal by Redrow,
which would have allowed them to build a mini roundabout, extremely close
to the level crossing in
However,
we very much welcome the decision by Redrow to appoint award-winning architects
to look at the chicken factory site with fresh eyes. We have been impressed
with their initial concepts for the site, which are very much more in keeping
with our own position of integrating the site into the town centre and not
producing an over-dense and isolated dormitory development, which we feel
the current planning permission is likely to create. We remain concerned,
however, about the scale and size of the proposed buildings, and we will be
putting these concerns forward at the appropriate time.
We
look forward to maintaining contact with Redrow and their architects, together
with the town Council and the NFDC to try and ensure that an exciting new
scheme can be developed, which will do justice to this unique site”
Ends