Avenues' build feedback

A REPORT looking at three developments on The Avenues has been circulated to senior planners to help them avoid similar controversial issues in the future.A panel of experts asked residents for their opinions on the The Firs development, the Heritage Grange building, on Salterton Road, and the Blair Atholl development, on Douglas Avenue.And a meeting of the Design Review Panel was attended by local interest groups as well as a mixture of councillors, district planning officers and landscape architects.The responses were presented to the district and town planners to guide them on the pitfalls of large developments on The Avenues, which included bin and cycle stores as an afterthought, making them very unattractive.Councillor Ray Franklin said: "This report shows real listening to the public and interested groups like Save our Avenues from Despoliation and will be used as a point of reference when making future decisions about The Avenues."The Firs development, on Sarlsdown Road, was praised for its attention to detail, keeping in line with the original property.Immediate neighbours found the development, which was given permission for construction in 2005, imposing but overall it remained in character with The Avenues.Residents found the Heritage Grange site, which was built as a replacement for an old house famous for its twin gables last year, attractive in design.It was the Blair Atholl building, on Douglas Avenue, which drew the most criticism with people calling it "bulky" and "excessive".The red-brick building above the Maer replaced a Victorian villa a few years ago.Residents felt the scale of the building was out of character for the area and future developments should not follow the style of the 1960s' apartments nearby or that of the Devon Court Hotel. The report said greater guidance should be taken before approving modern apartment schemes in sensitive locations like The Avenues.