Developers behind the proposed £40m Sulby Riverside scheme have submitted a revised application.

Blythe Church Investments Holdings was refused planning consent to build up to 205 homes on a greenfield site bordering a nature reserve and protected saltmarsh at Poyll Dooey, Ramsey.

An appeal by the developer against that decision by the planning committee is still pending.

But Blythe has now submitted a revised application.

The move comes despite the Poyll Dooey site being designated as ‘open space’ in the draft Area Plan for the North and West - and the Cabinet Office insists it remains unsuitable for residential development.

The public inquiry into the Area Plan is due to begin on July 16, with hearings taking place over four days at the Masonic Hall in Ramsey following by four days at Queen Elizabeth II High School starting on July 23.

Blythe’s initial application (22/00679/B) sought detailed planning approval for the first phase of the scheme comprising 66 houses and 12 flats, and outline consent for a second phase of up to 127 more homes, making 205 in total.

But it was rejected by the planning committee, despite being recommended for approval, amid concerns over flood risk and possible loss of two red-listed wildflowers.

A Spine Road was proposed as part of the scheme that would double as a flood barrier and the developers argue the site should be flood-free even in the event of a once in 200-year flooding event of 6.05m.

Blythe’s revised application is for outline consent only, with the aim of securing clarity on the proposed future use of the site. 

It does not request planning permission for a given number of houses and therefore there are no details of what the houses may look like.

There is no spine road defined in the new application although its preferred application is given as a notional line separating the north and south of the site.

The developers say their revised proposals have been met with ‘almost unanimous’ public support following two weeks of consultation.

They have stressed that they are not proposing to build on the salt marsh, Poyll Dooey nature reserve or the river’s edge, and that the focus is on land zoned for development on the edge of the town centre.

Project director Josh Church said: ‘Our first set of proposals were also met favourably by the majority, but there were some concerns around ecology and flood mitigation, so this revised application takes them on board.’

The consultation was managed by local architects Cornerstone, with the public invited to view the proposals over two weeks at the firm’s offices on Parliament Street.

Tony Lloyd-Davies from Cornerstone said: ‘Once people properly understood the scheme, they were very supportive.’