A DEVELOPER has reduced the number of houses he wants to build in Romsey town centre, following a previous refusal.

The application, submitted by Tim Lincoln, is to build one house on the land to the rear of 11 Church Street. 

A proposal for two houses in the same location was refused by Test Valley Borough Council's southern area planning committee following concerns that one of them would result in the loss of a mature sycamore tree.

In the new planning statement, it said: "The planning history of the site is that consent was recently refused for two dwellings. The reasons for refusal in that application focused on the loss of a sycamore tree located elsewhere within the site. The house that would result in the loss of the tree has therefore been removed from the scheme, hence the application for a single dwelling.

"The site is located in a conservation area and adjacent to a number of listed buildings – including King John’s House, which is a Grade I listed building.

"The proposal seeks to provide a family home in the centre of Romsey. Whilst on-site car parking is to be provided on site it is located in a high-sustainable location in very close proximity to a wide range of local shops, restaurants, local amenities and local transport networks."

READ MORE: Plan refused for houses near King John's House in Romsey

On October 13, the application had received eight objecting comments from members of the public, citing reasons such as overshadowing and overdevelopment.

Simon Withers, of Riverside Gardens, Romsey, said: "The proposed dwelling will not fit in with the existing surroundings, it will overlook and be visible from Kings Johns House and Gardens. An area of historic importance and gifted to the people of Romsey by the Moody family."

Heather Butler, of The Abbey, said: "It would block the view of the lovely old brick wall of The White Horse hotel and replace it instead with a new build, not in keeping with surrounding historic properties. It would overshadow the planting in King John's garden and deprive it of light. It would drastically change the character of the area and constitute over-development of this already built up part of town."

Mark Lee, from Test Valley Borough Council's housing and environment team, said: "I have no objection in principle to a dwelling being built in this location but I have some concerns with the current layout. There are potential conflicts from cooking fumes and noise associated with existing commercial uses and so I recommend that consideration be given to some design alterations to the dwelling so as to reduce the potential for exposure to cooking odours and noise associated with nearby commercial uses."

Romsey Town Council submitted an objection after its meeting on October 13. Cllr Ian Culley said: "I'm very concerned about this. It's too close to the gardens of King John's House. It's just not appropriate for the area."

To view more details on the application, search 22/02387/FULLS on Test Valley Borough Council's online planning portal.