Planners say no to demolition of town garages
RESIDENTS in Newmarket's Millbank, who have been fighting controversial plans which would have seen their garages demolished and replaced with housing for disabled people, are celebrating after the application was thrown out by councillors.
On Wednesday night, Forest Heath councillors meeting at a planning committee rejected the application for the homes submitted by Flagship Housing.
Councillors had already said they were "minded to refuse the application" at a meeting in July, which meant that the application came back before the planning committee for a final decision.
Millbank resident Valerie Jackson has led the charge against the garages ever since she first heard about the application last year.
Mrs Jackson told the Journal: "I am absolutely thrilled this has been refused as there were a number of problems with the application.
"This decision has come out in our favour and we are over the moon.
"This application came up first last year but was refused by delegated powers. It was re-submitted in 2010 but, because there were so many objections, it obviously had to go to the committee.
"I would like to congratulate councillors Warwick Hirst and Marion Fairman-Smith. They have said what we all thought."
Mrs Jackson, 68, and her husband Ted, 72, have lived in Millbank for 45 years and were among 136 residents who signed a petition against the garages.
More than a dozen letters of objection were also written to Forest Heath Council.
For the past year Mrs Jackson and fellow residents argued that the access points to the proposed bungalows was inadequate and that demolition of garages on the site would lead to more cars parked on the road in Millbank.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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