Louth Town Council slams 500-home plans for Brackenborough Road

At the Town Council’s Planning Committee meeting last Tuesday evening, Councillor Ros Jackson described the application as a “recipe for disaster”.

Coun Jackson raised concerns over the extension of the proposed housing development into the open countryside, the threat to ecology in the area, and the fact that the site is in an ‘Area of Great Landscape Value’.

She also highlighted concerns relating to transport, parking and infrastructure - and added that the plans “don’t quite fit” into ELDC’s draft Local Plan.

Coun Laura Stephenson said that the Fulmar Drive development for up to 149 homes - on land adjacent to the Brackenborough Road site - will already cause “complete havoc” which would be exacerbated by the addition of 500 more homes.

Coun Stephenson added the plan for a vehicular link road between Brackenborough Road and the Fairfield Industrial Estate would encourage ‘boy racers’ to drive around there.

“This should not go ahead, it is a silly idea, and we should completely crush it at the first hurdle”, she added.

Coun Jill Makinson-Sanders referred to the fact part of Westgate Fields is due to be dug up by Anglian Water so that they can improve the town’s water supply as a result of the approved Fulmar Drive application.

She suggested that building 500 extra homes could lead to more problems.

Coun Makinson-Sanders said: “Basically, we are going to be asked to build houses where we know there isn’t a water supply. How stupid is that? And how can that be good planning?”

Coun George Horton compared the plans to the controversial 970-home Legbourne Road scheme - which was twice refused planning permission.

“The infrastructure in Louth just cannot cope. We are struggling now without this new development”, he said.

“I know there’s a demand for housing, I accept that, but in the right place - and I feel at the moment that Louth is not the right place. We just do not have the infrastructure.”

Following the meeting, Alexis De Pol, of Metacre’s planning consultants, De Pol Associates, defended the plans. He said: “a wide range of technical survey work has been undertaken to ensure that any potentially adverse impacts resulting from the development can be minimised”.

• See next week’s Leader for the planner’s full statement and reaction to the plans.