Cllr Dave Mitchell asked to see what the front elevation would look like. Cllr Elderton stated that there was a nineteen person petition against the application. He asked if there was a ward councillor present? There wasn’t.
Cllr Dave Mitchell asked about the raised elevation to the rear, which Cllr Elderton described as “quite dramatic”. The officer said they had a sketch of the rear elevation. When this was shown to Cllr Dave Mitchell he said it was “sufficient for me not to like it”. Cllr Salter said it would be about a hundred metres from the front, well inside the Mariner’s area, not pronounced or on a corner. Cllr Stuart Kelly said it was a pity the petitioner had not met the threshold, he had a concern about the very open aspect. He had seen additional plans on the internet and felt it was “too big, intrusive and alien”. He said it “looked horrible” and he was not “enamoured by the impact”.
Cllr Elderton referred to representations received on this application in the areas of cycle parking, privacy, preferable sites nearby and an objection over rehousing.
Cllr Kelly joked that it was a pity it was not a retirement village for planning officers. Cllr Keeley referred to the considerable petition. Matthew Rushton said the petition was on one sole issue, to do with accommodation during development. Cllr Mooney said the main objection was that the people rehoused are elderly, there would be disruption which was not a planning issue but was “heartbreaking”.
