Louth councillors voice concerns over '˜horrendous' 100-home plans

The site has previously been earmarked as a potential site for up to 300 homes in East Lindsey District Council’s draft Local Plan.

Now, Richard Morton (KCS Developments Limited) has submitted an application for 100 homes on the site, leading to fears from residents and councillors that this could be just the ‘first phase’ of development on the land.

At the town council’s planning committee meeting on September 27, Councillor Sue Locking suggested that there could be “three more phases of 100 homes each” if this one is approved.

She said that this could mean 8-10 years of building on the site, and added: “This means these poor residents (already residing in Chestnut Drive) are going to subjected to dust, dirt, lorries.

“This is going to be horrendous for the people whose road is going to be a complete thoroughfare, for eight to ten years.”

Town Clerk Linda Blankley read out concerns that had been raised at a pre-planning meeting the previous week, which was attended by local members of the public.

The Town Clerk said that there had been concerns over water supply and the increased volume of traffic, and the fact there was no emergency exit route, although this could be resolved in the future.

She added that there was an ‘expectation’ that the site would not be limited to just 100 homes in the long-term.

Additional concerns related to the impact on infrastructure, such as schools, and a cumulative impact with neighbouring new developments.

Coun Ros Jackson picked up on the latter point and reminded councillors that 46 new homes are on their way for land off nearby Eastfield Road after the plans were approved in August - and noted that Eastfield Road would become “very, very congested”.

Coun Jackson added that ‘Flood risk is the probably the main thing here’, and said that mitigation needs to be put in place, although she said it is not known whether it would have a long term effect - nor who is going to be responsible for maintaining it.

Coun David Hall said: “We’ve recently had a lot of problems with water pressure going into this particular area”, including the nearby Park Avenue football stadium.

Following the discussion, the Town Council voted to object to the application on six grounds: utilities, traffic, local services, local community, drainage, and ecology.

Visit ELDC’s online planning portal to view all details and representations.