1:21 pm, September 1, 2022
A used car dealership in Portsmouth will be on the move soon, after plans for retirement flats to go up on its site were approved.
Hampshire Car Sales in Drayton is to make way for 55 homes, to be built by Churchill Retirement Living, reported The News.
A spokesman for the dealership, which is part of the Richmond Motor Group, told Car Dealer today (Sep 1) that the showroom would be moving to a new site in Bognor Regis, and it could be as soon as October, although November was also possible.
The Havant Road site has hosted dealerships for many years. Hampshire Car Sales opened there in 2015, and among its forebears was Derek Warwick Honda.
The approval of the plans brings to an end a long, drawn-out saga dating back to 2006 when the land was initially identified by the council for housing, said The News.
Since then, a planning application for the flats was refused last November then overturned on appeal in July as Portsmouth was behind on building houses, said the inspector, with a second set of plans also being approved yesterday (Aug 31).
The plans did, however, draw opposition, with 21 letters from objectors, mainly claiming overdevelopment. There were also fears that some residents would ‘lose significant amounts of light’, reported The News.
Local MP and one-time prime ministerial hopeful Penny Mordaunt waded into the argument as well, claiming retirement flats harmed their occupants as well as the neighbouring community.
She also pointed out that there were already a number of other retirement homes in the immediate area, said The News.
However, planning officers recommended approval.
Pictures copyright ⓒ Blackball Media 2022
