Councillor's request to build homes on her own land rejected AGAIN
Councillor Mary Penfold wants to build 5 properties on land she owns at Sydling St Nicholas
Planning committee vice chair Cllr Mary Penfold has had an application for five homes on a site she owns in Sydling St Nicholas turned down by fellow councillors.
It is the second time that an application to develop the plot, north of Cutlers Close, has been refused.
The northern area committee decided the homes planned were out of keeping with the village conservation area, the plot is outside the village defined development boundary and was an unsustainable location which would result in residents having to drive outside the village to meet their needs.
There was also concerns that although the site itself is not likely to flood, water from it could increase the risk of flooding for nearby homes.
The proposal also included the demolition of barns and the building of a replacement barn.
Neighbour Mr Stephen Shears from Waterside Lane told the northern area planning committee meeting in Sturminster Newton on Tuesday said there was contradictions in the application – claiming that the barns were redundant, yet asked for permission to build a new barn.
Mr Shears backed all the council officer reasons for refusing the scheme adding that twice in the past five years water running off nearby fields had caused Sydling Water to break its banks which he said caused problems both in the village and further downstream, as far away as Poole Harbour.
A planning agent for Cllr Penfold, who left the meeting during the discussion, refuted many of the claims made by objectors and said that there had been changes to the application with a scaling back of the size of the homes and attempts to take onboard other areas of concern from the earlier application.
Cllr Stella Jones said she agreed with the grounds for refusing the application: “I don’t think this will enhance the village, it will spoil the conservation area and these are the wrong types of housing – they wouldn’t be bought by local people, they’re too large.”
Council chairman Cllr Val Pothecary said she shared the view about the type of houses being proposed saying that they were not “villagey” and would look incongruous.
Cllr Carole Jones said she had sympathy with attempt to develop the site, saying that it looked scruffy and needed something to happen there, although not the current scheme.
Three detached homes and a pair of semi-detached homes had been asked for with the larger detached homes on the east of the site fronting onto Back Lane and a pair of semi-detached homes in the south west corner. The replacement barn, which would be separated from the housing by a hedgerow, would be situated on the northern edge of the site, with its own access from Back Lane.