TWO large-scale housing developments at Lakeside have been approved by councillors for the second time following a long-running planning saga.
David Wilson Homes, winners of an architect competition back in 2003 to develop homes on three plots of land adjacent to Lakeside Boulevard, were this week granted permission by the borough's planning committee to build almost 600 new dwellings in th
e sought-after location.
Two previous applications for a mixture of town houses and apartments were both granted permission in March 2005 but the decisions were later thrown out by a judicial review after council officers failed to follow official planning protocol.
Despite concerns over the density of the developments, proposals for 258 houses and apartments on a 7.7 hectare site to the south of The Dome's car park and a further 308 apartments on a smaller 'peninsula' area of land on the eastern side of the lake, opposite Fewston Way and Langsett Court, were both approved at Mansion House on Tuesday.
Local residents had previously objected to the earlier peninsula plan on the basis that they lost their lake view - but developers have since reduced the height of flats and say the view can be enjoyed from across the rooftops or through an open space to be retained in the middle of the site.
Coun Edwin Simpson, who labelled the peninsula proposals as the "wrong concept" for the area, was defeated in his motion to refuse the application on the grounds that the intensity of the development would be detrimental to its surroundings.
He said: "You've got the large apartments on the Lakeside itself - but if it's called a leisure park then how often do you go to places like this where the buildings are obscuring the views of the lake?"
Fellow Liberal Democrat Eric Tatton-Kelly, meanwhile, demanded that the authority ceased referring to the land as "Doncaster Leisure Park" in light of the latest residential developments.
The new housing plot adjacent to The Dome car park will feature a children's play area together with 109 town houses, 85 detached houses, 50 apartments and 13 flats.
Permission was granted subject to a Section 106 agreement and a referral to the Secretary of State.
The 'peninsula' project will see the development of 308 apartments and associated car parking within four complexes, varying in height between two and four-storeys with limited five-storey elements.
Planning permission was granted subject to a pending flood risk report by the Environment Agency.
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