PLANS for a proposed development of 46 news homes near Fordingbridge have been unveiled.

The proposals are for Lights Farm at Middle Burgate and a formal planning application has yet to be submitted to New Forest District Council.

A public consultation evening was held at the town hall last Thursday to outline the proposals.

Documents on the website for the development scheme state: “We are proposing a new housing development that is contemporary but which truly draws upon the local Middle Burgate agricultural history. Our houses will be designed to be highly sustainable in their design, construction and operation, offering light and bright interiors, in houses that our greener, cheaper and warmer than those typically being offered on the market.”

Of the 46 homes being proposed - five would be one to two bed flats, three one-bed bungalows, seven two-bed bungalows, 12 two-bed houses, 11 three-bed houses and eight four-bed homes.

The existing Middle Burgate house would be converted and extended to make way for new apartments and a “multi-purpose” community space.

“Generous areas of currently inaccessible green space”, the proposals say, would also be opened for public use including footpaths, cycleways and areas with “natural play” equipment.

One of the footpaths will run along the former railway line which ran through Fordingbridge.

All vehicle traffic will access and exit the site from the A338, which the proposals state will mean “no traffic will impact upon the roads through the town centre or its suburbs”.

The site is a former agricultural and horticultural operation.

The development proposal documents add: “The development of Lights Farm provides the opportunity to take a redundant and unsightly piece of former agri-industrial land and transform it into a new, highly sustainable and attractive residential community with generous outdoor green spaces for residents and visitors alike to enjoy.”

An environment statement on the website says that detailed technical studies have been carried out including ecological as well as a flood risk assessment and drainage survey.

This survey work, the document says, has shown that “there is no significant presence of protected species but there is limited bat and reptile activity on site.”

It also says that opportunities will be sought to enhance the biodiversity as well as using modern technologies to provide a “highly sustainable and future-proofed” development.

For more information about the proposals for Lights Farm or to submit comments and feedback visit: lights-farm.com

 

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