Marchwood plan to turn Avondale Lodge into HMO refused

New Forest District Council has rejected an application to convert Avondale Lodge in Hythe Road, Marchwood, after receiving 30 objections to the scheme.

The authority acknowledged that the proposed HMO would help meet the housing needs of the district.

But it said the conversion would result in an overly intensive form of development that would fail to provide a suitable living environment for the occupants.

Plans to turn the former Avondale Lodge care home into an HMO have been refused (Image: Newsquest)

The decision was welcomed by Marchwood councillor Richard Young, one of the people who objected to the application.

Posting on social media, he said residents were worried about the extra traffic the scheme would generate and the impact on road safety, especially at school start and finish times.

He added: "Although this application has been refused, I am keen to see the building brought back into use.

"However, it must be done in the right way by providing high quality affordable residential accommodation that fits well within its local surroundings.

"Perhaps a more modest, sensitively considered division of the building into four flats might work - a proposal that properly takes into account on-site parking, outdoor amenity space, and quality of living for future residents."

Plans to turn the former Avondale Lodge care home into an HMO have been refused (Image: Newsquest)

As reported, some of the objectors claimed the HMO could result in "undesirable characters" living in the property.

But most said it would create extra traffic problems, endangering the safety of children going to and from Marchwood Infant School.

Michael Sims, of Hythe Road, said: "An additional influx of vehicles would only worsen safety and congestion issues, posing risks to both drivers and pedestrians."

READ MORE: Fury over plan to turn Avondale Lodge in Hythe Road, Marchwood, into 12-bed HMO

Fellow Marchwood resident Laura Tuffill also raised concerns about the scheme.

She said: "HMOs come with a reputation of being let to students and young adults, with noise being a common issue as a result of parties/gatherings and the sheer number of adults coming and going."

Avondale Lodge has stood empty since the care home closed in 2022.

A council report said: "The application proposes a use which does have the potential to generate additional comings and goings associated with the different living pattern of potential occupiers.

"However, it is not considered that such a use would be inappropriate within the surrounding residential context."

But the report said the scheme would result in an over-intensive use of the site which, combined with the loss of some communal facilities, would result in a poor quality living environment.

The applicant, Wendy Osman, could decide to lodge an appeal.