MORE THAN 40 objections have been submitted for a development on the outskirts of Newport, with neighbours fearing it could be turned into a rat-run.
A planning application has been submitted by Mrs C Ferns, of the Cotton Trust, to the Isle of Wight Council asking for outline permission to build 14 homes on Landscape Lane.
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.
Comments on the application have now closed but not before gathering numerous objections from residents of Landscape Lane, who have also put up signs on their property.
Main issues appearing in the objections included currently farmed land being turned into houses, the impact on local wildlife (toads) and the size of the lane with problems of a visibility blackspot at the end of the lane.
One objector said: "This proposal constitutes an undesirable intensification of residential development at a density which would be out of keeping and incompatible with the existing development in the locality".
Another said the lane would not be able to cope with the increased traffic even after the proposed changes.
Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council said it strongly recommends refusal.
It said: "The proposal, containing sizeable houses, does not meet any identified local needs ... for smaller, affordable one and two-bedroom properties.
"The number of properties contained in this application also appears to deliberately miss the affordable housing figure to avoid any financial contribution which is disappointing."
Local ward councillor Matthew Price said the application was neither wanted nor needed.
He said: "I will be calling it in for determination and we will have a robust argument against it, if the planning officers recommend it for approval."
Concerns were also raised about the ownership of the land, with questions raised over a seeming lack of information.
Planning agent for the development, Phil Salmon, clarified the land has been owned by the same family for almost 100 years after it was bought by local dairy farmer Frank Cotton in 1922.
Mr Salmon said after Mr Cotton's death in 1955 he left the land 'in trust', known as the Cotton Trust, to his grandchildren which has now been passed down to his great-grandchildren.
The applicant named in planning documents, Mrs C. Ferns, is part of one of four families who make up the private, family trust.
House Rules
We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Read the rules here