Planning permission has been granted for the regeneration of a former industrial site at The Dean, Alresford.

The development will mean the demolition of the existing industrial units and the provision of 45 new homes, consisting of ten houses and thirty-five flats.

This will include two rows of five terraced houses and two blocks of flats, one of which will include nine affordable homes.

The application proposes nine flats all within block B as affordable housing. The mix within the block is three lots of one-bed two person flats and six lots of two-bed three person flats.

As part of the section 106 agreement the developer will have to agree to; give a financial contribution of £19,800 towards funding off site affordable housing, a contribution of £50,000 towards the provision of public car parking and a financial contribution of £212, 097 towards local education funds. Unallocated parking is to remain unallocated in perpetuity, so as to give extra parking to the community.

The scheme will also involve the creation of a new footpath to Arlebury Park, new undercroft car parking and new access onto The Dean.

At the Planning Committee meeting last Thursday Councillor Frank Pearson voiced concern that vehicles approaching the neighbouring business unit may wish to use the roads into the new housing development and should be prevented from doing so.

Councillor Ian Tait expressed concerns that there was no storage space provided on the ground floor of the flats for push chairs or prams.

Despite some initial reservations Cllr Tait later said: “I wholeheartedly support what is a good application”

Cllr Eleanor Bell said that the scheme was an interesting use of a brownfield site and said that she hoped other sites would come forward.

Some present including Cllr Bell questioned the fact that the road into the development would be an ‘unadopted’ road, i.e. not maintained by the Highways Authority, however this was not an area covered by the planning committee.

At the final vote eight councillors voted in favour and one against, and the development was approved. It was agreed to add a condition that access to the sites roads by local businesses would not be allowed and wording to this effect was to be finalised.