Objections to plans for homes, care home and cafe at Browndown site
Strong objections have been raised against plans to build a 67-bed care home, 80 other homes, a cafe and business units at the former MoD training site at Browndown.
The Gosport Society and Lee Society are opposed to the proposals for the 3.76 hectares site which is earmarked for tourism and leisure use in Gosport Borough Council’s new local plan which acts as a development blueprint for the area.
Highwood Ventures 17 Limited has submitted an application to the council seeking permission to build the care home, 34 retirement flats, 46 other homes, and two commercial units at Browndown Training Camp after the demolition of buildings on the site which housed a barracks, firing range and has been historically used for training.
The MoD declared it surplus to requirements in 2009 and closed it before selling it off to a private contractor for £754,000 in 2012. The beach at Browndown is still used for military training in Amphibious Warfare.
The Gosport Society said that the developer was trying to secure planning permission for the inappropriate use with the argument that that the homes on the site will contribute towards the area’s housing targets instead of proposing a use for the site needed by local people, namely for leisure use.
In its response to the application the society said: “In raising a Strong Objection, the Society is fully aware of a developer's likely riposte, that proposal that is wholly contrary to approved and emerging planning policy, should be allowed because it contributes to housing figures and targets
“It is impossible to imagine a greater disparity in character, scale, density and impact, between this proposal and the Borough Council's well considered tourism & leisure policy proposals for the site.”
It added: “The Gosport Society fully supports the council's historic and continuing strategy to protect this area from intrusive and alien development as proposed in this application.”
The Lee Society has also raised similar objections saying the plans will be ‘damaging’ to the area, also also arguing that the site should be used for leisure use as intended by the local plan. The society has also pointed out the proposed 169 parking spaces on the site ‘falls woefully short’, and that the scheme would be detrimental to the surrounding environmental area.
But the developer has said that the emerging local plan which earmarks the site for leisure use ‘carries minimal weight in decision-making’ process and that the site will meet local housing and employment needs.
It said discussions were still ongoing over how many of the proposed new homes would be ‘affordable homes’ rather than for market sale, and that the development would improve the environment and look of both Browndown and the neighbouring areas.
In its planning application it said: “The delivery of 80 new homes, and affordable homes acts as a boost to housing supply in an area where there is a significant, consistent lack of supply and in the context of a national housing crisis. This must be given significant weight in favour of the proposals.
“The site is previously developed, is in existing use, in a sustainable location, on the edge of the Gosport, close to existing shops, services and facilities and on a frequent bus route. The development will deliver economic benefits, social benefits and environmental benefits with a significant biodiversity net gain.
“For the reasons set out in the Planning Assessment, any harms associated with the development are minimal by comparison, and significantly outweighed by the benefits of the proposals. This is a unique opportunity to deliver benefits to Gosport residents – and which will do so without undermining the development plan or planning strategy for the area.”