Published: April 13, 2010
Delight as Burnham seafront flats scheme is rejected by council

Residents campaigning against controversial plans for a huge block of 13 flats to be built next to Burnham-On-Sea beach were celebrating on Tuesday (April 13th) when councillors rejected the scheme.

Proposals to build the three-storey property at the end of Allandale Road were considered by Sedgemoor District Council's Development Control Committee in Bridgwater.

And while the council's planning officer Chris Gomm recommended that the committee approve the scheme, the councillors instead voted to reject the application after making a visit to the site.

In support of local residents, Cllr Neville Jones spoke out strongly against the scheme during Tuesday's meeting, saying the building would "destroy the character" of the area.

Allandale Road Group Treasurer Tom Ashton told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Tuesday evening: "We are all over the moon by the news."

Residents previously won a bid in November 2008 to get the first planning application at the site, for 14 flats, rejected on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate.

The developers then submitted a new, amended planning application - as first reported here - with one less flat and a different building design that they argue fits in with the surroundings.