A COMMUTER cut-through on the outskirts of Newport could be widened to allow 14 houses to be built on the agricultural land to one side of the lane.

Planning permission has been submitted by Mrs C Ferns, of the Cotton Trust, to the Isle of Wight Council asking for outline permission to build 14 dwellings on Landscape Lane.

Landscape Lane, in Newport, connects two busy routes into Newport — Staplers Road and Long Lane — which commuters routinely use to cut through to avoid the roundabout near Pan's Bluebell Meadows.

The site was allocated for ten houses as part of the draft Island Planning Strategy in 2018.

Isle of Wight County Press:

The applicant says it is a significant positive opportunity and could see two, three and four-bed houses built as a mix of one and two-storey properties, in two cul-de-sacs.

While the site would not provide affordable housing, planning documents said an offsite contribution would be made.

Planning agents, Phil Salmon Planning have said, however, the rural feel to the character of the lane would be kept.

The lane itself is narrow and would be widened at 'strategic points' to allow vehicles to pass safely as well as providing a formal footpath.

Isle of Wight County Press:

A pre-application consultation with residents, parish council and other public bodies was undertaken before final plans were submitted.

Residents agreed to the principle of housing but felt the lane was already too busy with traffic and it should be kept as it is.

Comments on the application, 20/01529/FUL, can be made up until October 30 on the Isle of Wight Council's planning portal.