Revised application for Sidmouth's Knowle buildings

Monday, 22 October 2012

by Anders Larsson

RESIDENTS have until November 8th to comment on East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) revised outline planning application for the Knowle site.
EDDC hopes to relocate its head office to a purpose-built complex in Honiton and put Knowle and its grounds on the market with outline planning consent.

EDDC submitted an outline planning application on Friday, August 17th – which incorporated proposals to build on the footprint of existing buildings and car parks, plus an area of parkland at the lower end of the site.

There would be a care home, a number of market-priced homes and 40 per cent affordable homes, making a total of 50 homes in all.

But the application has since been revised.
An EDDC spokesperson said: “Revisions bring improvements to some aspects of the scheme and also introduce new information to clarify several of the more contentious issues. The changes have been made in response to comments made by consultees on the original application.

“There is a comprehensive schedule of trees, including clear indications of which would be removed, based on the advice of an EDDC arboricultural officer.

“The Monkey Puzzle tree and large Monterey Pine would be retained as part of this revised tree assessment. There is also more information about the colony of bats that lives in part of the building, including an indication of the trees where they roost.

“Whilst the total number of dwellings remains the same, the number proposed for Zone E, at the lower end of the site, drops from 10 to 8. The layout of these 8 homes has been revised to fit in better with existing trees, their root systems and branch canopies. In Zone C (the footprint of the current office buildings) one of the housing layouts has changed from a crescent shaped block to a conventional terrace to mirror the nearby Fortfield Terrace architecture.”

A 21-day consultation will end on November 8th.
The spokesperson said: “Anyone who has submitted either written or online comments on the original application will be contacted.

“The revisions to the planning application can be viewed on the EDDC planning website by looking for application number: 12/1847/MOUT, or a paper copy can be viewed at Knowle reception.”
A decision on whether to approve or refuse the application is expected on December 4th.

Email: pulmans@tindlenews.co.uk

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