Bardney Group Parish Council response to the planning application no 137950 Land adj. to Lea Grove.
BGPC would like to object to the above planning application for the following reasons;
Lack of drainage capacity in the system
- Currently there is no spare capacity in the drainage system (foul and surface water drains). At the moment, in times of heavy rainfall the lack of capacity means that several properties are flooded with effluent.
- Drainage for both sewage and surface water is a known problem in Bardney and has affected other planning applications in the adjacent area (see 136548) where special conditions were applied due to the flood risk in the area.
- Since Anglian Water response from July 18 is that ‘the proposed development will lead to an unacceptable risk of flooding downstream….’ It must be noted that since then Anglian Water have discovered the drainage plans for Bardney are incorrect and are operating above capacity.
- Here is a photograph of Laing Close, whenever there is a heavy rain fall the mains sewage for Bardney overflows into a property occupied by an elderly lady. This property has been heavily flooded in both 2007 and 2012,both times the occupants had to live in a caravan for 6 months whilst repairs are carried out.
- Anglian Water has subsequently paid to install flood doors, flood alarms and build 2’ walls as flood defences around properties.
- The situation in Bardney, with regards to the lack of capacity, means that in times of heavy rain fall Anglian Water having to deploy a tanker to pump out the drains. The latest incident of this was last Sunday, 8th October.
- The Water Study of 2010, stated that drainage infrastructure for the Bardney area only had capacity for a further 333 dwellings, a rough calculation shows that nearly 400 have been approved or built. Since 2010, Chestnut Homes has implemented part II (93 homes) & III (170) of their development along, with Keir Homes building a approx. 98 homes with permission for an additional 100. Records show that Keir Homes implemented a Water Course Improvement Study due to the drainage/flooding problems in this area.
- THEREFORE BGPC strongly advise that no further planning applications are approved on public health grounds until this major health problem is resolved. To approve this application would subject more homes and families to this unacceptable situation.
Parking and access for vehicles
- The road measurement stated in the Design and Access Statement is incorrect. It is stated that the road is 5.1m, however the true measurement is 4.8m with the widest point being 4.9m. This makes the road narrower than the national guidelines for a Residential street and is actually compatible with the size of a Shared Surface Street. Due to the lack of off road parking, residents park either along one side of the road or on the verge. Where possible residents have converted front gardens into parking areas, however the number of vehicles in the area still requires residents to park on the road.
- This means that the road is not wide enough for ancillary vehicles such as bin lorries, ambulances and construction lorries.
- The issue of the width of the road is exacerbated by the 90 degree turn in the road. Making turning for construction vehicles very difficult. Households in this area are predominantly families with young children.
- The issue of parking on Lea Grove has been repeatedly raised with LCC Highways. A request from March 2017, to create an off street parking area was rejected by LCC Highways due to the legal standing of the grassed area (believed to be formally classed as a public open space).
- It was confirmed in a conversation between BGPC and LCC Highways on Thursday 11th October that there had been no consultation between the Risk Management team and the regional team that cover Bardney, therefore response to consultation was inaccurate and should not be accepted.
- Parking on this road is difficult due to a number of properties not having access to a drive or driveway. Further traffic along this route would not be advisable.
- No public transport close to Lea Grove. The closest bus stop is ½ mile away. The Design and Access Statement claims that the impact from traffic will be negated by use of the popular public bus which uses Wragby Road and has a stop up from the junction with Lea Grove. The only buses that use this route are school buses (which run term time only) and a bus that is funded by Asda supermarket, which only travels once a week during term time. Public bus provision in Bardney is very poor and there are only five buses per day (Monday to Saturday) operating between Bardney, Lincoln and Horncastle. Making it very difficult for those who work, or attend college, in Lincoln, to use the public bus as their main form of transport.
Not compliant with CLLP due to lack of additional facilities and had been previously rejected from 5 year plan
- The planned development does not comply with the Central Lincolnshire Local Plan, as purely provides housing stock and makes no provision for employment, retail, key services or facilities for the village.
Size of the development - on greenfield not brown field site
- The planning application states 22 dwellings however documentation included within the application reference a planned total of 77 properties.
- The planning application states that the development will be on Brownfield site. This is not correct as Google earth show’s that only 10% on the planned development area is Brownfield, whilst the rest was used as tennis courts, bowling green and playing field.
- The other part of the site has historically been used for grazing and is therefore Greenfield.
- Part of the land was historically a playing field and therefore has protected status. The Design and Access Statement claims that the playing field was only available for employees of British Sugar who resided outside the village. Social media has proved this to be incorrect, with many people publically reporting using the facilities free of charge or for a nominal fee.
Environmental Report
- As the building on the site has been disused for several years there have been reports of bats and other wildlife living in the building, therefore an ecological study should be carried out as a matter of urgency.