by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
A Dorchester garage block site once considered for social housing has won planning permission for a large detached house with an in-ground swimming pool.
The former council garage blocks, with room for 20 cars off Garfield Avenue, has a narrow access track between other homes mid-way along the road.
Dorset Council say it did look at the site for social housing – but ruled it out.
Several neighbours living in Garfield Avenue, Maiden Castle Road and Florence Road which all back onto the site have told Dorset Council they are unhappy about not being consulted on the plans – only reading of it in the Dorset Echo.
While some have welcomed a use for the redundant garage site others have said the main building will be out of place, one describing it as “a selfish monstrosity.”
An agent acting for the Dorchester couple behind the proposal says the development will be in keeping with other properties in the area and will create less traffic than when the 20 garages were in use. The development is also seeking to use modern, energy-saving devices to cut its carbon footprint.
The proposal seeks to replace the existing worn-out tarmac track with an aggregate surface and to install an electronically operated access gates.
When the garages were being considered for social housing use by Dorchester Town Council and the Community Land Trust Dorset Council officers ruled the site out because of concerns over access for emergency services, according to ward councillor Les Fry, who has made no comment about the plans, other than to say that some claims that the site’s new use will add to flooding are wrong.
Said a Maiden Castle Road resident who has a boundary with the site: “I object totally to this application as the site could be better used for social housing as agreed in the past.”
Another in a similar position complained about a loss of privacy from the development and the appearance of the three-storey main house and said that traffic to the site would again be greater than it has been for more than 20 years, when the garages were last in use.
Dorchester Civic Society said in its submission : “We would agree that this luxury house is a little out of place here… However, there is nothing significant to object to. This is not a great location for higher density social housing due to the distance from shops and services including regular public transport. In addition, the access is narrow and more suited to a single property.”
