The Echo reports here on the the councillors refusal of the Lakeside flats scheme:
A LANDMARK building will retain its lakeside spot after councillors refused plans to demolish it to make way for flats.
Scores of residents in Downhall Road and Lakeside, Rayleigh, were furious after proposals were unveiled to knock down the feature property, which has a large lake in the garden, and build eight homes in its place.
The large home, known as Willow Lodge, was built in 1932 for the Raven family, who owned a clothes shop in Southend.
But developer Peter Wislocki wants to build a modern block of seven flats and a separate detached home on the site.
Mr Wislocki, of Southend-based Hedgehog Developments, told a Rochford District Council planning committee devising the plans had been a labour of love”.
Someone has left a comment there saying:
It’s easy to be inspired and enthusiastic about a project, and convinced that it will fit in, when you don’t have to live with it.
The way things are going, any house over 50 years old with a modest sized garden will be a prime target for developers. This particular plot, though big by modern standards, is not exceptionally large. To replace one dwelling with eight is ridiculous, and if it happens to several properties in an established road it will severely impact quality of life for residents, and will be detrimental to the environment with loss of garden space.
Meanwhile the developer has hit back. The Echo reports tonight:
A DEVELOPER has accused councillors of “nimbyism” after they turned down his plans for a controversial new development.
Rochford District Council’s development control committee rejected the scheme for seven flats and one house on the site of Lakeside, formerly Willow Lodge in Downhall Road, Rayleigh.
The proposal was backed by planning officers, but had met with strenuous opposition from residents living in Lakeside, a road off Down Hall Road.
Peter Wislocki, one of the architects and developer of the scheme, said: “A number of members paid little or no regard to the policies of both their own council and national Government, and sided with a vocal group of residents whose views amounted to Not in My Back Yard or Nimby for short…..