AJC Group has won an appeal against New Forest District Council, which rejected its plans for 37 homes on Dibden Purlieu on the edge of the New Forest.

The Dorset-based firm has received planning permission from the Planning Inspectorate to develop 25 family homes on the same 0.9-hectare (2.2 acre) site on Noads Way.

AJC Group revised its plans, with input from stakeholders and planning officers, to meet the needs outlined in the Hythe and Dibden Neighbourhood Plan and contribute towards the NFDC housing land supply targets.

These will be a mixture of two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom houses. The homes will feature traditional detailing including red brick porches, tiled roofs, bay windows and exposed barge rafters.

The development will have 56 car parking spaces, with at least two for each property, and secure bike storage. All homes will have private amenity space and the development will include two areas of open space and opportunities for biodiversity net gain.

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Dorset-headquartered AJC Group is seeking planning application to redevelop the former NHS Becton Centre, a 0.35ha (0.86-acre) brownfield site in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire.

The proposal involves razing the existing structure and redeveloping the site into a single building that will house 31 modern apartments.

The Becton Centre, once under the management of Southern Health Foundation Trust, was originally built in the 1950s as a residential facility for older people with mental health issues.

AJC Group’s full planning application for the redevelopment of the site has been prepared by RTPI-accredited L Planning. A collection of high EPC-rated one- to three-bedroom apartments is proposed, designed by ARC Architects.

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AJC Group wants to demolish an existing three-storey commercial building at 245-251 High Street North, Poole, and build a five-storey apartment building in its place. The new building would include a commercial unit on the ground floor.

It has submitted an outline planning application to the Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch (BCP) Council for this redevelopment. The plan includes 32 apartments, with 28 one-bedroom homes and four two-bedroom apartments.

AJC Group is allocating 10% of the project for affordable housing, with potential to increase this percentage later in the planning process. It also plans to make seven of the apartments ‘accessible and adaptable homes’, following M4(2) regulations, with a lift to provide wheelchair access to all floors.

Christchurch-based ARC Architecture worked on the application, submitting a design that features full-length windows at the front and, on the ground floor, a cycle store, providing one bike space for each apartment, and a bin store.

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Dorset-based affordable housing specialist AJC Group has completed a 4-storey Build to Rent apartment scheme, located on Wimborne Road in Poole.

The £10m development has delivered 35 one- and two-bedroom apartments, which have all been placed on the rental market. Over 90% of the homes have already had a letting agreed, with only two apartments currently available.

Accessed via Wimborne Road (A35), the 0.66-acre brownfield site was formerly the site of a disused commercial premise. It was allocated for residential development in 2021, helping to meet Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council’s housing needs. The site remediation and construction programme took 18 months to complete, and the scheme was funded by AJC Group and a private investor.

The apartments have been built to a high EPC – B rating, and each has been fitted with an air source water heater to support low-carbon living. There are also eight Electric Vehicle communal charging points available in the private car park for residents. The rent for a two-bedroom apartment starts from £1,250pcm.

David Cracklen, director of AJC Group, said: “This apartment scheme is our fourth in quick succession in Poole, providing much-needed energy-efficient new homes for this highly popular town – which is also where our office is located. Wimborne Road is in a great location and the development promotes a sustainable way of living, as it is within walking distance to lots of shops and local facilities. This highly picturesque coastal town has a wide appeal from those already living in Dorset, as well as people relocating. There are direct trains to London Waterloo, and easy travel to an array of visitor attractions.”

“Purpose-built rental schemes offer several advantages and are rapidly increasing in popularity. Each of the 35 new Wimborne Road apartments include high quality furnishings, alongside on-site facilities. The professionally landscaped garden space and communal EV charging points are available to use by all residents.”

AJC Group’s development has 40 private designated parking spaces, as well as bike storage available for each dwelling. 25 of the apartments benefit from a private balcony or terrace. Each home has been fitted with oak-effect luxury vinyl tile flooring and high-quality Abingdon carpets, to reduce sound transmission. Bathrooms feature contemporary white sanitaryware and ceramic tiling.

Paul Johnson, Branch Manager at Frost & Co Estate Agents, who is marketing the Wimborne Road development, said: “As soon as these apartments were placed onto the rental market, they were incredibly popular, due to the quality of the accommodation and the sought-after location. This development is ideal for a young professional working in the Dorset area, as the transport links are so good, and the high specification interiors are very smart. It has been a pleasure to work with AJC Group and we look forward to seeing the scheme fully occupied very soon.”

Located in the Oakdale suburb of Poole, the site runs adjacent to the junction of Wimborne Road (A35), Dorchester Road and Vicarage Road, which leads into Poole town centre. Local amenities include a post office, pharmacy, and a GP Surgery. It is also easily accessible to a number of public transport links, including a bus stop within a few minutes’ walk, and Poole train station just a mile away. There are frequent local, regional, and national services, including journeys to London Waterloo in under 1hr 50, and regular trains running through Southampton and Winchester.

AJC Group is on track to deliver over 200 mixed-tenure homes during 2023, reflecting a total construction value in excess of £100m. The firm has become one of the most active residential development specialists across the Wessex region.

Seven schemes are currently under construction by AJC Group, including sites in the villages of Okeford Fitzpaine and Hazelbury Bryan, both near Blandford Forum. Developments on Lindsay Road, The Sloop, and Herbert Avenue, are all located in Poole. The company has also recently started construction at one of its largest projects, which will deliver 57 affordable houses and apartments for Aster Group within the former Dorchester Brewery regeneration scheme.

To make an appointment to view Wimborne Road, or for further details, visit Frost & Co’s website, or call 01202 778855.

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With a record 1.2million households currently on waiting lists for social housing, Dorset-based affordable housing specialist AJC Group fears rural communities will be starved of much-needed affordable homes.

The latest available industry reports state that fewer than 4,500 social homes were built in 2019-20, but there were over 250,000 people on a housing waiting list in rural areas by 2020. Across the entire UK, only 157,000 of the Government’s own target of 180,000 affordable homes were built during 2021. Homes England only distributed grants for 6,250 rural homes – half the number required under the policy.

David Cracklen, Director of AJC Group, said: “With Michael Gove’s recent amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill scrapping mandatory housing targets, a huge population of people in rural areas will be forced to relocate away from their home town or village. Local authorities and communities will now be able to determine how many homes might be built in their area, but the voices and needs of those on housing waiting lists are unlikely to be considered.

“Even when there were mandatory housing targets, a high proportion of planning applications for new homes went to appeal, even for designated and allocated sites. The costly appeal process typically delays a development start by at least 12 months. However, planning barristers’ success rates have been relatively high because housing targets were in place and a non-NIMBY approach to determining planning applications could be applied. Without clear housing targets, I fear rural development will become scarcer than we’ve ever known in our lifetimes.”

AJC Group is currently concluding the construction programme at a development of 21 houses in the rural Dorset village of Hazelbury Bryan. Located off Pidney Green, the nearest small town of Sturminster Newton is nearly five miles away. The terms of the S.106 for AJC Group’s planning permission required a 40% affordable housing allocation, however in line with the company’s social and corporate strategy, the site has been delivered in partnership with Abri Housing Association as a 100% affordable scheme.

AJC Group has applied the same scenario to its development of 27 homes in Okeford Fitzpaine, which is another rural village in Dorset. The company is delivering the 100% affordable scheme for Aster Communities, despite the planning conditions stipulating a requirement for only 11 affordable dwellings.

David Cracklen continued: “Jeremy Hunt’s announcement of a below inflation 7% rent cap for the social rent sector will hopefully not stifle growth at a critical point for this sector, but the disastrous planning policy change will. The UK’s broken planning system – and the prolonged debacle to determine phosphates, nitrates, and nutrient neutrality – means green lights for new development has already been few and far between for some time.

“For developers such as us who do have live sites, the cost of delivering much-needed EPC-A and B rated homes has sky-rocketed. We are currently delivering a total of 230 homes at seven sites across the Wessex region. The cost of labour, materials, plant, and machinery is incomparable to the original budget forecasts. With the planning system in crisis, and affordable homes completions already falling far short of demand, how can the industry strive towards delivering the new homes the UK desperately needs?”

AJC Group works in partnership with Registered Providers, Local Authorities, and charities. The multi-award-winning company will shortly be under construction with 300 much-needed mixed-tenure homes, becoming the leading affordable housing contractor in the Wessex region.

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