PROPOSED plans for 400 homes in Ringwood have been delayed again after further objections have been considered.
Delayed to September 11 after it was due to be considered on July 10, plans for 443 homes on land south of Moortown Lane have hit another speed bump after New Forest District Council's planning committee has once again delayed the decision.
Recommended for approval by case officer Robert Thain, the decision came after Ringwood Town Council presented further objections against the plans.
Cllr Philip Day, Chair of the Town Council’s Planning Committee said: "The Town Council recognises the need for more housing and the inevitability that the Moortown Lane site will eventually be developed.
"However, the current proposal falls far short of our expectations in so many ways, including the lack of affordable housing for young people trying to get onto the housing ladder, access to the site being limited to Moortown Lane, compliance with “zero carbon” policies and the adverse impact on the New Forest National Park."
Plans were delayed on July 10 due to the snap General Election and Ringwood Neighbourhood Plan vote which were held on the same day.
The vote has led to a new neighbourhood plan which has begun to be adopted which has become a reason why the proposed plans continue to be delayed.
At the committee on September 11, Cllr Allan Glass said: "I think we have failed the areas by even thinking about this. This application doesn't give an adequate mix that would give the maximum benefit to the area.
"I think the site, although we need the housing, could be much better used for the type of housing they're asking for in the Ringwood [neighbourhood] plan."
Ringwood Town Council has welcomed discussions with developers Crest Nicholson and NFDC planning officers to explore how the development of the site can be beneficial to the town.
Development Management service manager Mark Wyatt rebutted RTC's claims that plans 'disregard' the neighbourhood plan and suggested that the report "acknowledges when's there conflict but simply suggests that everything goes into the mix and you have to balance that."
It's not known when plans are deferred to at this time.
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