By Carole Dennett
The group opposing the West Acre Park development is to have their day in court.
On Wednesday this week, His Honour Judge Jarman ruled that Greenfield IOW Ltd, a company set up to represent local residents of Ryde, Appley and Elmfield, has an arguable case that the Isle of Wight Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the development was wrong in law. It can therefore go forward for judicial review.
It is four years since Captiva Homes first applied for planning permission to build 472 houses on Westridge Farm, a working dairy farm.
In July 2021, the IW Council planning committee approved the application, amid controversy about the way in which the decision was made. After spirited opposition to the decision, the tenant farmers abandoned their fight and handed back the farm.
The application was considered again in April 2023, after concerns were raised about the loss of habitat for curlews, a protected wading bird. However, the plans were approved once again.
A crowd-funding campaign to fund legal costs to overturn the decision has, so far, raised more than £45,000, with over 800 pledges of support.
Ryde Appley & Elmfield Councillor, Michael Lilley, said: “I am delighted for my residents as they have fought so hard and so long for justice, and to get their huge case of alleged malpractice by IW Council planning department.
“This has always been a David and Goliath battle, and this is a huge achievement. The recent climate change realities of flooding and sewage releases into the Solent demonstrate environmentally that building 472 houses on farmland half a mile from the coastline would be a disaster.”
Local resident, Helen Sharpe added: “The council should never have passed this application, and they failed in their duty to protect this historic, greenfield site, which included a dairy farm, thousands of trees and a rare breeding ground for curlews.
“This whole community is really worried about how Ryde would cope with such a huge building project, when the hospital, surgeries, schools, roads and sewerage system is overrun and cannot cope as it is.”
Greenfields must now pay £10,000 into court within 14 days, while the Isle of Wight Council has the same period of time to disclose documents relating to the involvement of Cllrs Lilley, Geoff Brodie and Matthew Price, and the monitoring officer, Chris Potter, in the planning application.”
