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We, the undersigned residents, workers, and students of the New Forest district, formally petition New Forest District Council to reject the planning application for the proposed retirement apartments on Southampton Road, Lymington.

Lymington is facing an unsustainable imbalance in its local housing market. Our town is being systematically overdeveloped with age-restricted and retirement complexes, many of which remain unfilled, while young families, key workers, and local first-time buyers are completely priced out of the area due to a severe shortage of affordable, standard residential housing.

We object to this development on the following grounds:

• Loss of Family Housing: The demolition of existing residential properties removes vital standard housing stock that cannot easily be replaced.

• Lack of Demonstrated Need: Lymington already features a significant surplus of retirement accommodation; building more does not serve the actual strategic housing needs of our community.

• Strain on Local Infrastructure: Increasing the density of senior housing puts a disproportionate and unsustainable strain on our already stretched local healthcare services and GP surgeries.

• Character and Traffic: The scale of the proposed block threatens the character of this key gateway into Lymington and will exacerbate existing traffic and parking issues on the busy Southampton Road corridor.

We call upon the NFDC Planning Committee to listen to the community, uphold the balance of our town's demographics, and refuse permission for this development.