Back to the drawing board for controversial Crossways housing development

The Isle of Wight Council's planning committee deferred the application in December, due to a lack of information about the road layout and the number of houses that would actually be built.

Previous applications had suggested it would be 165 houses.

The team behind the Crossways plan, iWight Developments — a partnership between the council and Public Sector PLC — said it wanted to build more sustainable and affordable housing on council-owned land.

Housing cabinet member Cllr Barry Abraham said the application had now gone back to the developers for further consultation.

At a meeting of the Isle of Wight Association of Local Councils, Cllr Abraham said the Island needed sustainable housing developments, and he hoped Crossways would be one of them.

He said: "Crossways was quite a controversial development, we recognise it was not popular.

"We are actually going to go back now and consult with East Cowes Town Council as to what we can actually provide on that site.

"It is not about withdrawing it, but working out what we can provide on that site that makes it more acceptable for the community."

East Cowes residents who objected to the application raised concerns about a lack of infrastructure in the town to support another large housing development — citing long waits at the doctor's surgery and the fact the primary school was at capacity.

It was pointed out the Hawthorn Meadows development, opposite Crossways, had already added hundreds of houses to the town — with more still to come once building works had finished.

An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said: "Since the application was deferred, more work has been going on to establish how best to take the application forward and help meet the Island's need for new homes.

"This work continues and will include discussions with various parties.

"At the moment no decision has been taken as to when the application will be ready to bring forward."