Ed Maggs has written to tell me that folks in Bunrham on Crouch are getting upset about the news that Prior’s boatyard is closing and that there are proposals to build a stark new housing development on the site. I can’t say I’m a fan.
Read about it here. There are more stories here.
Here’s what I think. After what happened at Brightlingsea, I’d hope that planners in the area would take special care when siting housing developments close to the water – for boats, boat owners, boat yards and dwellings and restaurants are so often not comfortable bedfellows. So maybe it won’t be allowed…
And you’d also think the folks who make these kinds of proposals would recognise that stark, hard-on-the-eye developments that make statement – like this proposal – are seriously unsympathetic. Why is the saw-teeth profile considered appealing? And why is such a regimented development even necessary?
Living opposite Prior’s, Ed has strong personal reasons for opposing this development, but he does have a point. Here’s a photo of Ed’s view, as matters currently stand…
Another sad story made worse by the same planner friendly vernacular kitsch that’s proposed and will no doubt be nodded through. Faversham is a grim example of this blight where the style is dubbed ‘Creekside’ to add insult to injury.
Cheers, Nigel. Let them know… I love your phrase ‘planner friendly vernacular kitsch’!
Sad to hear that Priors is going to close as a working boatyard. I understand Rice & Cole want to call it a day too and sell their land for housing.