ALTON Town Council has joined residents and the Alton Society to register its objections to aspects of a plan by Miller Homes to redevelop the former Coors (Bass) Sports and Social Club site on Anstey Road.

Outline permission was granted in February 2015 for the demolition of existing buildings on the site and the erection of up to 85 dwellings, with associated car parking, landscaping and vehicular access.

But a detailed application has raised continuing concerns over access, parking, drainage and flood risk, dwelling mix and design and councillors have registered concerns over the risk of flooding on the notoriously boggy site, which is located in an area designed by the Environment Agency as “at risk of flooding.”

They point out that while the developer is proposing the installation of six soakaway drains there is no grid the connecting them and development would increase the risk of flooding.

Concerns also remain over access from the site onto the highway. The town council said the proposal is likely to generate “an unacceptable increase in vehicular traffic using a sub-standard access junction with Anstey Road to the detriment of highway safety. There is also “inadequate provision for turning right into or out of the site without interfering with the flow of traffic in Anstey Road,” which is already heavily congested.

A question remains over which sections of the estate roads will be built to adoptable standards and concern that many of the roads appear too narrow for refuse and emergency vehicles.

The proposal for parking spaces are also deemed to be inadequate and councillors have also stated a preference for the installation of car ports rather than garages.

Another key concern is that there is no provision for on-site open space or a play area which is not only contrary to planning policy but raises fears of children having to cross busy roads in to play in Anstey Park.

Accepting that the plan could not be viewed as overdevelopment, councillors said that Miller Homes is “trying to squeeze so much into such a small space” which was putting pressure on car parking and the provision of open spaceand requested that all the dwellings be built in red brick, to remain in keeping with the local vernacular, and question the need for plot 50 to be built so close to John Eggar’s Square.

There is a question also over why the proposed development is offering only 35 per cent affordable housing, rather than the standard 40 per cent requirement.

And, while the developer is planning to work to good standards of insulation and other resource-saving measures, the development does not appear to meet condition seven of the outline planning permission that requires 10 per cent of energy to come from on-site renewables. Councillors would like the new dwellings to be constructed to Lifetime Homes Standards.