30 homes approved at Kings Worthy (From Daily Echo)

30 homes approved at Kings Worthy

6:10am Wednesday 4th November 2009 in

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WINCHESTER planning chiefs have given the green light for 30 new homes at Kings Worthy, despite concerns about traffic noise.

Some of the homes, off Willis Waye, will be built just 20 metres from the busy A34 dual carriageway.

The council decision will disappoint Kings Worthy and Headbourne Worthy parish councils as well as 36 local residents who objected to the scheme.

Planning officers recommended the scheme be approved because 29 of the 30 dwellings will be affordable housing. Nine are to be shared equity while the rest will be rented from housing associations.

Affordable homes Jill Lee, principal planning officer, said: “We are giving planning permission because although it is a noisy site this opportunity has come to us to develop a site with 100 per cent affordable housing.”

The council usually insists that up to 50 per cent of new housing developments are affordable dwellings. But because the local authority owns part of the one-hectare site, it struck a deal to have more low-cost homes.

Under the plan, a council house and garage court to the rear of Willis Waye and Meadowsweet will be demolished to make way for the two-storey houses. No flats are planned.

Officers said that conditions attached to the planning permission, such as double-glazing and mechanical ventilation, would reduce road noise.