Fordingbridge Town Council’s amenities committee held an extraordinary meeting last month to consider the proposal. This comes after the proximity of the play area to the river was flagged up in a Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) report. Councillor Diane Paton said: “It is an expense we can do without and I can also see no advantage to it. I think it is actually putting people nearer the river. It is the area where the ducks are and the kids like to feed the ducks and to have dogs there is wrong.” However, Councillor Paul Anstey admitted there was a “dog issue to it” but pointed out the accessibility to the river embankment by children in the play area was deemed a medium risk by RoSPA and the movement of the fence was to put a “physical barrier” in place.
PROPOSALS to turn high street units into three flats in Fordingbridge have sparked concerns about “over development” and a lack of parking. An application seeking a change of use for units 2 and 3 Roman Quay, High Street to create three new homes has been submitted to New Forest District Council by Tygwin Ltd. It was discussed by Fordingbridge Town Council on January 13. Councillor Alan Lewendon said the units had been a cafe and shop premises previously and that the cafe building would be divided in half to create two separate units of accommodation. He said they were “very small” and were “stand alone studio flats” but was concerned over the amount of light the lower property would get, which he felt would be “extremely limited”.
How have concerns been addressed? Alistair Harris, speaking on behalf of Metis Homes, said after discussions with planning officers and consultees areas of landscaping had been increased and new areas of open space introduced as well as “greater levels of separation” from some of the trees and sensitive boundaries. Regarding concerns over the day nursery, he said there was a new area of open space in that area, which created a “gap” between the new homes and the nursery. The buildings, he said, now “fronted onto” the open space and were not backing on to the nursery. He also told the meeting it had worked closely with the school and highway authority to agree “improvements to the existing highway” and the school facilities, including dedicated laybys for buses for pupils to be dropped off.