DEVELOPERS are awaiting the outcome
of a £10 million plan to transform
a prime town centre site.
Renaissance Retirement wants to
bulldoze Lymington’s former bus station
and redevelop the site by building
a shop and 17 sheltered apartments
for the elderly.
Its initial application was rejected
by New Forest District Council after
being described as “totally uninspiring”
at a planning committee meeting.
Renaissance lodged an appeal but
also submitted a revised scheme that
aimed to overcome the objections.
The second application was also
refused by the council, but the company
also appealed against that decision.
Both proposals include a retail unit
at the front, plus 17 parking spaces
hidden in an underground space accessed
by a car lift.
The bus station closed in 2015, with
operators blaming a reduction in services
caused by bus subsidy cuts and
an increase in fuel duty.
The High Street site is part of the
Lymington Conservation Area and
is also close to several Grade II listed
buildings including Londesborough
House.
The Lymington Society wants any
development to include a “substantial”
retail element.
Campaigner Don Mackenzie said:
“We are determined to stop this unsuitable
and damaging development,
which could set a very dangerous
precedent for the conversion of other
flats to yet more unwanted retirement
flats.”
Both appeals have now been heard
at an inquiry chaired by a government-appointed
planning inspector.
Simon McFarlane, of Renaissance
Retirement, said: “There’s a critical
need for housing, specifically older
people’s housing, in the New Forest.”
The result of the inquiry is expected
to be announced in weeks.
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