A quirky one-bedroom bungalow that was a battle to get built has gone on the market for £350,000. Planning permission was originally refused for the dwelling in the bottom of the applicant’s garden on Winchester Road in Kings Furlong. Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council rejected plans for a two-storey home after hearing concerns from residents at a planning meeting in December 2018. At the time, the authority refused the plans due to its “size, design and sitting”, saying it would “not integrate harmoniously into the street scene to the adverse harm and character of the area”. The applicants, named in documents as Mr and Mrs Bennett, challenged the decision via the planning inspectorate and won – successfully obtaining permission for a single-storey bungalow in December 2020.
The property market is as busy as ever right now as homeowners re-evaluate their needs following the Covid lockdown. Whether it s an extra bedroom to use as a home office or a bigger garden, potential buyers are spoilt for choice right now. The average house price in the UK has dropped by £1,000 in since December 2021 with the average house price in Basingstoke according to Rightmove currently standing at £327,423. Buyers may feel more emboldened to buy following the governments launch on April 1st of the mortgage guarantee scheme, in which the government guarantees 95% of the mortgage for buyers with 5% deposits. With this in mind, the Gazette delves into the wide range of properties currently on the market.
IF YOU haven’t already taken your Christmas decorations down, then you are probably thinking about doing so in the next few days. For those who bought a real Christmas tree this year, you can recycle them by dropping them off at one of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s collection points, or have it picked up from outside your home if you are signed up to the garden waste scheme. As a special festive offering to garden waste customers, the borough council is collecting real Christmas trees through its fortnightly garden waste service, which can be placed out for collection with your bin and/or sacks.