The long saga of the Pennyfeathers housing development has taken another step to becoming reality.
Planning Agents have submitted a Reserved Matters Application relating to the already approved outline planning consent for Pennyfeathers in Ryde (P/01456/14) for 904 residential units.
Over 1,800 news houses
The submission on 7th January 2021 to IW Council has taken nearly six years since Pennyfeathers, greenfield site south-east of Ryde was first given approval by IW Council Planning Committee in 2015. This approval led to a string of applications and approvals in Ryde East and South with over 1,300 new houses already with consent.
Currently there are two further applications being considered by IW Council Planning Department, including West Acre Park on Westridge Farm for 465 houses and at Puckpool for 50. This could bring the total to over 1,800 new houses in the South/East of Ryde.
Moratorium of all planning applications
Cllr Michael Lilley, IW Councillor for Ryde East, has been campaigning since 2016 against what he describes as clear overdevelopment of Ryde.
He called for a moratorium of all applications in 2020 and a halt of applications during the Covid Pandemic but has been unsuccessful. He is a leading voice in the Save Westridge Farm campaign to get the West Acre Park application refused, which is due for decision by IW Council Planning Committee at the end of January.
Lilley: A violation of human rights
Cllr Lilley says,
“Ryde residents especially those living in Ryde East and South not only have to face the threat of Covid, experiencing Covid, losing loved ones from Covid and manage the third Lockdown in the last 10 months, they have three large planning applications to take in. It is simply inhumane and in my view totally violates their human rights.
“Residents cannot meet, have difficulty in making comments and objections, if not on Internet or have access to a computer completely disfranchised, and simply probably at their weakest with Covid cases rising daily with National Lockdown.”
Lilley: A chaotic mess
He continues,
“These large scale housing developments are the cart before the horse. There is no Ryde Master Plan that connects the outline approved planning applications in Ryde East/South (Pennyfeathers, Nicolson Road and Rosemary Vineyard, Harcourt Sands) and the two new applications (West Acre Park and Puckpool). It is just private developers and landowners including IW Council doing their own thing.
“There is no agreed master road infrastructure plan, and no plans for community/education/job creation/health infrastructure. There is no consensus between Island Roads and IW Council. Any meetings between developers, if any, have been in total secrecy and Ryde Town Council has been in my view totally ignored.
“It is a mess, chaotic and just leaves the Ryde residents left powerless and bewildered.”
All comments should be made by 12th February 2021 via the council’s Website – searching with the reference 20/02159/ARM.
News shared by Michael in his own words. Ed
Image: Lex Photography under CC BY 2.0
