New council houses planned for Gosport
By Connor Steel
RESIDENTS have been asked for their opinions on a new proposal to build a fifteen council houses for local people across three locations within the Gosport area; with detailed plans and consultation events confirmed in an online press release published by Gosport Borough Council official media earlier this week (August 25).
A mixture of family homes and wheelchair-accessible bungalows would be built under these set of proposals, which would be used primarily for Gosport residents on a council waiting list. All 15 properties would be built to strict energy-saving standards, including parking availability for occupants and wildlife friendly landscapes.
Proposals further state that all bungalows would have one bedroom; whilst each family house would feature between two and four each. The council have stated that they would all follow a specific Passivhaus designs standard, thus helping to minimise energy used for heating / hot water and aims to keep essential bills down.
Seven of these properties are planned to be located within Stoners Close, Bridgemary, a site previously used for council garages. These would transformed into five 4-bed houses and two 3-bed properties, whilst a total of 16 parking spaces are planned to be created in order to reduce any negative impacts on nearby residents.
It is also believed that three 1-bed wheelchair-accessible bungalows and two 2-bed houses will be created in Wheeler Close, nearby Forton Recreation Ground. In this scenario a total of fifteen parking spaces would be laid out including three disabled bays; the new builds again set to take over the previous council garage site.
The final two properties are planned to be built on Glebe Drive, Rowner, where three two-bed houses and 12 parking spots are to be created if approved. However this will involve the demolition of some council garages which are rented to paying residents currently, with occupiers offered alternative sites for any storage needs.
Councillor Sue Ballard, who now chairs the council’s Housing Board, said: “There’s a shortage of affordable housing in Gosport, as there is all over the country, and these homes would (all) help meet a real local need. They would be good-sized, high-quality homes for local people to rent, built to excellent energy standards.”
The Liberal Democrat representative for Elson added that: “The proposals are at an early stage, and we are hoping to hear the views of people living near the sites. Any development that goes ahead would also have to go through the planning process, and residents would have a chance to have their say at that stage too.”
Residents are being invited to attend an afternoon drop-in session scheduled for Nobes Hall, in Bridgemary, on September 1 between 12pm and 7pm; where plans will be on display. Alternatively they can also visit the Gosport Borough Council website link where plans will be available from next Friday morning (September 2).
Plans will furthermore be available to explore in the Town Hall on Gosport High Street for a limited period of time, with a comments box for views at reception. These can be submitted between 9am to 5pm on working days between September 2 and September 9, although the building will close over the weekend as normal.
PICTURED BY PIXABAY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY: New houses proposed for Gosport under new council plans released this week, with residents asked to offer their views on these proposals over the next 2 weeks.
