RUBBER stamped plans to knock down disused garages in Kineton and build houses in their place will only “exacerbate” existing parking chaos according to villagers.
A planning application to demolish 44 garages on St Peters Road and build five homes was given the go-ahead by Stratford District Council’s (SDC) planning committee on Wednesday October 12.
This was despite serious concerns that parking problems in the area – which see cars parked up on grass verges and blocking footpaths – will only get worse.
Five homes, including one four-bedroom detached house, two, three bedroom semi-detached houses, and two semi-detached, two bedroom homes, can now be built on the site to replace three rows of garages.
Ward member, Coun Chris Mills said the removal of the garages and building of five homes would inevitably cause more parking problems for the residents living on St Peters Road.
He continued: “Many of the car owners at present are having to park on grass verges as well as parking on the footpaths due to the lack of parking facilities.
“The parking problems on St Peters Road have been a constant problem for many years often involving the police due to complaints from residents owing to the footpaths being unnavigable.
“Kineton Parish Council have clearly shown by their visuals how bad the parking problem is on St Peters Road. The ideal solution would be for all the garages to be removed and turn this expanse into a parking facility for the well-being of the residents who live there.”
Kineton Parish Council also raised grave concerns about parking issues. Parish councillors said building new homes on the site would only displace cars onto the streets and pavements. They pointed out there were already issues with existing traffic flow and concerns with delivery and refuse vehicles and removing resident’s ability to use the area for parking would further exacerbate the situation.
While seven letters from residents also raised objections concerning the severe lack of parking on St Peters Road and the hazards this caused for pedestrians.
One letter suggested building a multi-storey car park on the site instead. While other concerns included an overdevelopment of the site and existing properties on the estate being left vacant.
Planning officers had recommended the planning committee grant the application on the grounds Kineton Neighbourhood Development Plan supports the development and re-use of land and buildings for housing.
While in terms of parking, officers stated the garages were no longer fit for purpose as they were too small to realistically be used for modern cars – and the new houses would have their own parking spaces – so overall there were no objections to the scheme in terms of parking being lost.
