The ground breaking scheme for nearly 850 new homes in a high quality and sustainable new development on the outskirts of Newport has been approved by the Isle of Wight Council.

Read related news from the Island Pulse here: Isle of Wight Goes Green With New Home Scheme

The authority’s planning committee tonight (Tuesday 15th December) gave conditional approval for 846 homes, and a network of roads, public footpaths and cycleways at Pan.

The scheme by the Isle of Wight Council in partnership with Spectrum Housing also includes a country park, public open space, a biomass energy plant to provide heating and hot water to the development and also a visitors’ centre.

The development is seen as a major part of the council’s aim to provide new homes –254 of which will be designated as affordable. All homes will be built to meet the requirements of Lifetime Homes and Code Level Four of the Code for Sustainable Homes making Pan one of the most sustainable developments of its type in the UK.

Four developers – Barratt, David Wilson Southampton, Linden Homes Southern, Leadbitter, and a consortium of Rok and Tomicca have been short-listed by the IW Council, Western Challenge Housing Association along with PNP as community representative as potential developers of the 58-acre council-owned site off St George’s Way. The selected developer will be announced in March 2010.

News that the application had been passed by the council’s planning committee was welcomed by Cllr Dawn Cousins, the IW Council cabinet member responsible for housing.

“The Pan Project is important in so many respects. Not only will it make a significant contribution to our housing and homelessness targets it will also make a telling contribution to our Eco Island and regeneration aspirations as well as providing most welcome employment opportunities” she said.

“There is much work to be done but this planning approval represents a giant step forward for this groundbreaking scheme that is of great importance not just to Newport to the wider community as well.”

The full planning committee report can be viewed here: