ANNEX B

SUMMARY OF THIRD PARTY REPRESENTATIONS

Although a number of third parties have written more than one letter, the grounds for objection referred to in the letters of representation are as follows:

• Residential development inappropriate – site should be a nature reserve or park;

• Proposal is a housing estate masquerading as an old peoples home;

• Rural character of the area would be spoiled by residential development;

• Adverse effect on wildlife habitat, e.g. barn owls, red squirrels, dormice, bats, reptiles and other flora and fauna;

• Protected trees would be lost;

• Older people should mix in with the community, not become cut off and isolated;

• Specialist healthcare and social services will be needed and existing services will be overstretched;

• More mainland people will come to the village and there are enough pensioners living here already;

• Proposal does not conform to policies of the adopted UDP which the Council spent a great deal of time and money producing;

• Not an institutional proposal, will be change of use to residential and retail;

• Site is in rural area adjoining AONB, unsuited to development of this scale;

• Demolition of Victorian buildings is unacceptable;

• Loss of landscape value and parkland character;

• Site served narrow rural roads, much used by cyclists, horse riders and walkers and additional traffic would add to hazards of road users;

• Applicant’s traffic survey ignored Sandy Lane and Marvel Lane traffic to the east of the site;

• Access road too narrow for construction and service traffic;

• Area has never had to accommodate levels of traffic suggested by TRICS data submitted by applicant;

• Applicant’s Highways report is biased, backed by data inappropriate for the site, traffic counts did not recognise the traffic to other uses such as the laundry, the sports ground, staff traffic etc;

• Residents are aware of accidents at Whitcombe Road/Sandy Lane junction, despite comments in applicant’s Highways report;

• There is poor provision of public transport services in the area;

• The quality of application drawings is inadequate;

• Scheme is gross over development of the site;

• Buildings are of important historic interest, not only to the Isle of Wight but to British social history overall;

• Confusion as to extent of application site, if additional land is required, no ecological assessment has been made and there is likely to be impact on Gatcombe withybed SINC if this happens;

• Landscape/Ecology report is based on a walkover survey in October, when a large number of species had died down, migrated or were preparing for hibernation;

• Tree schedule has been incorrectly prepared without the necessary Climbing survey carried out by a fully qualified Arboriculturist;

• Proposal will lead to significant increase in light pollution in a rural area;

• Jobs in the laundry and other offices still in use will be put at risk;

• In the past sewerage system at the site and to Newport has caused environmental problems;

• More people die on the Island than are born, so houses should be pulled down, not built;

• No development of this nature should be allowed in true villages in the area;

• Villages are created naturally, not in this artificial manner;

• Any restriction of residents to over-50 will be almost impossible to enforce;

• There was flooding in Sandy Lane last winter and more development will exacerbate the situation – EA advises this is a flood risk area;

• Proposals fail to show that benefits outweigh any disbenefits, including relevant planning criteria;

• There will be an enormous level of pollution in a beautiful rural area – noise, traffic and air quality;

• There is already a village called Gatcombe and the name of the proposed development will cause confusion;

• People should not be segregated by age, accommodation for all ages should be provided;

• Plans are inaccurate – do not show current boundaries and are 7 – 8 years out of date;

• No objection to appropriate re-use, e.g. Council Headquarters;

• Business users in lane cause problems with vehicles manoeuvring in and obstructing the highway.