Homes plan for Gosberton branded a rural '˜betrayal'

Gosberton Parish Council has written to planning authorities in South Holland on behalf of villagers over an application to develop 80 homes near York Gardens and Low Gate, submitted on behalf of the Casswell and Rozier families of Gosberton.

The plans were discussed during a parish council meeting at Gosberton Public Hall last Monday after it emerged that councillors had originally chosen not to give a response to South Holland District Council.

The Rev Steve Weatherly-Barton, minister at Gosberton Baptist Church, said: “The first we heard about the plans was when we got a letter in mid-November saying ‘Outline Planning Permission was being sought for this development’.

“A neighbour told us that many people had deliberately moved to where they live because of the lovely, open view they have onto agricultural land.

“Nothing was indicated then about possible development and they feel betrayed, having invested in their retirement homes, only to discover that a large housing estate may be built.”

A statement on behalf of the applicants said: “There is great demand for housing and both the size and location of the site means that the development will bring new vitality to the area and visual impacts on neighbours would be acceptable.”

However, Gosberton Parish Council chairman Coun Tim Smith said: “There is local concern about the proposed development and its impact on local services.

“A number of local residents expressed their concerns at the parish council meeting held on December 12 and we have since written to the planning department expressing their concerns’.

A spokesman for the applicants said: “Our clients wish for the planning application to be considered and take its due course through the normal planning process.

“We await the outcome of the decision by South Holland District Council.”