Raven Housing Trust is looking at its garage sites with a view to seeing if they can be used instead to provide social, affordable housing. The garages were built at a time when cars were smaller and so in the main are used for storage or as parking areas. Their proposal is to build 26 affordable homes across six garage sites, five of which are in our ward.
Raven have gone out to public consultation on their plans. They have delivered leaflets to homes close to the sites and did arrange two drop-in events, on Tuesday 14 March and Wednesday 15 March. However these dates were announced very late in the process and so many residents would not have had the chance to organise attendance.
You can find out more details and leave comments on Raven’s online platform: newmanfrancis.org/raven-garage-sites-development
You can leave comments as well by email to: ravengarages@newmanfrancis.org or call 0800 644 6040.
Your Residents Association councillors have made a preliminary review and comments are shown below. Residents are urged to give their own views to Raven.
Overall, we are concerned about the current users of the garages and whether the scheme would push more parking into the overcrowded surrounding roads. We also feel there is an element of over development at all sites and one less house would redress this balance and better allow for adequate parking for new residents. Any new development must meet the Council’s parking standard.
On a site by site basis:
Upland Way – 6 x 2 bedroom houses
- Many school children use the access road as their route to Shawley school, and it is in fact designated as a public footpath. There is no pavement nor any space to provide one.
- Any development must meet the Council’s minimum parking standards and not add to the parking problems nearby. We think the current Raven plan does not meet that standard.
- The design and layout of properties should avoid unacceptable overlooking.
- Access to the site is awkward and may compromise attendance by emergency vehicles.
- Collection of bins by refuse vehicles needs to be thought through.
- Trees on site need to be either protected or replacement planting.
Shawley Crescent – 6 x 2 bedroom houses
- Raven should robustly investigate the current users of the garages, to see if removal would push more cars out on to the overcrowded surrounding roads.
- Any development must meet the Council’s minimum parking standards and not add to the parking problems nearby. We think the current Raven plan does not meet that standard.
- The site is potentially impacted by flooding in periods of heavy downpours.
- This is a long thin site and the distance from the parking area to the end property may pose a problem.
- The access point is uphill and narrow which may mean that future residents have a long uphill walk to put their bins out for collection.
- There are trees on site and some at the end of neighbouring gardens that need protection or replacement planting.
Downland Close – 3 x 2 bedroom houses
- Raven should robustly investigate the current users of the garages, to see if removal would push more cars out on to the overcrowded surrounding roads.
- Any development must meet the Council’s minimum parking standards and not add to the parking problems nearby. We think the current Raven plan does not meet that standard.
- The design and layout of properties should avoid unacceptable overlooking.
Ferriers Way – 4 x 2 bedroom houses
- Raven should robustly investigate the current users of the garages, to see if removal would push more cars out on to the overcrowded surrounding roads.The entrance road to this site is used extensively for parking – and this loss needs to be taken into account in the plans.
- Any development must meet the Council’s minimum parking standards and not add to the parking problems nearby. We think the current Raven plan does not meet that standard.
- The design and layout of properties must avoid unacceptable overlooking.
Hatch Gardens – 3 x 2 bedroom houses
- Raven should robustly investigate the current users of the garages, to see if removal would push more cars out on to the overcrowded surrounding roads. The entrance road to this site is used extensively for parking – and this loss needs to be taken into account in the plans.
- Any development must meet the Council’s minimum parking standards and not add to the parking problems nearby. We think the current Raven plan does not meet that standard.
- We felt there would be overlooking with neighbouring houses.The design and layout of properties must avoid unacceptable overlooking.