Housing plans are blasted for being just ‘boring boxes’
Councillors let rip at ‘unoriginal’ Taylor-Wimpey development
PLANS for a new housing development have been slated as just ‘a row of boring boxes’.
Councillors on a planning committee let rip at the Taylor Wimpey-designed homes, describing them as repetitive and unoriginal – and identical to estates up and down the land.
The outburst came during a Fareham Borough Council planning meeting.
The committee was discussing an 85-home development for land east of Brook Lane, Warsash. It was originally refused by councillors in 2017 only for the planning inspectorate to approve it on appeal.
In Wednesday’s planning committee, councillors were debating ‘reserved matters’ regarding layout, scale, appearance and landscaping.
Councillor Michael Ford hit out against the developers’ designs.
‘I have visited throughout Hampshire numerous developments by Taylor Wimpey, Foreman Homes, Bargate,’ he said.
‘I have to say the main characteristic of Taylor Wimpey is exactly the same house, so out of the brochure the same designed house, the same brick, nothing that’s broken up.
‘Other developers have an odd house with a different coloured brick so it breaks it up but with Taylor Wimpey, every other house seems to be the same.’
Councillor Connie Hockley said she was disappointed by the design of the homes and thought the developers lacked style.
‘Today we’ve been asked to look at layout, scale and appearance. I’ve got to say I thought “here we go again another row of boring boxes”,’ she said.
‘I would very much like in the future for some of the developers would come up with a bit of style – I find that very disappointing.’
Simon Packer supported the development in his deputation on behalf of the agent Turley, a planning consultancy.
He said: ‘The principle of development, scale of development have therefore been permitted as has the access road onto Brook Lane.
‘The proposal before you is considered to provide a well designed high-quality development and all technical matters have been resolved.
‘The proposal includes 40 per cent affordable housing, this is in accordance with the higher requirement within the emerging plan. This will deliver 34 affordable units combined with the market housing to provide security in helping to meet the fiveyear supply shortfall.’