Nine new homes get go-ahead in Fareham despite concerns
Nine new houses have been given the green light in Fareham – but developers must get to work sooner than normal.
A parcel of land off Titchfield Road in Stubbington, with access from Ranvilles Lane, has been approved for the new homes. Plans show the overall design idea is based on a traditional farmyard complex, a farmhouse and barn buildings with two courtyards.
Formerly a paddock, the site is roughly triangular in shape, falling away to the north where a stream runs through an area of woodland within the site towards the River Meon. This area cannot be built on in future due to flood risk, confirmed the council officer at the meeting.
Of the nine houses, three were initially earmarked to be affordable but Fareham Borough Council planners didn’t like the fact that one was designed away from others. The revised plans now include two affordable homes in the middle of the site and a financial contribution equivalent to ‘1.6 units’ for a third home to be built elsewhere.
Eight homes will be twostorey, vertically timber-clad homes with four bedrooms and one will be a four-bed brick house with a slate tiled roof. The development will have 29 car parking spaces and 18 for cycles.
The developer, Driftstone Homes, is currently finishing building 16 homes on the site known as Crofton View, formerly The Grange, on the opposite side of Ranvilles Lane.
Fareham Borough
Council officers had said because of the standard three years given to developers to start building, it had only met 55 per cent of its build target last year. Councillor Joanne Burton asked why developers were given three years to start a project if the council was not meeting its housing build targets. Instead, she suggested the developers be given 18 months to start projects.
Council officers said they would consider this action moving forward and, at the planning committee meeting, Driftstone Homes’ agent agreed they could start within that timeframe and soon.
The plans were approved with eight votes for and with Cllr Burton voting against.