Villagers tell the planners - ‘no more housing’

Around 350 people were at Scotter Village Hall to have their say on plans to build more than 42,000 new homes across the county.

It was part of a series of events, organised by the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee (CLJSPC), to consult on allocating land for development.

The CLJSPC is made up of West Lindsey District Council, North Kesteven District Council, City of Lincoln Council and Lincolnshire County Council.

The Core Strategy has committed to delivering more than 42,000 new homes and 26,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

The overwhelming feeling among residents was that roads, drains and schools could not cope with a large volume of development.

Scotter parish clerk Nicola Altoft said: “The parish council is against the proposal and we have sent our objections. We are now encouraging people to respond to the consultation through the questionnaires.”

Scotter resident Kay Edgar said she didn’t want to see the village get any bigger.

“On a practical level I don’t think we have the infrastructure to support any more developments as our drains have been a problem,” she said.

“I was born in Scotter and I don’t want to see it get any bigger. We want to be able to retain the village feeling and the sense of community. If we get too many homes this will be lost.”

Ros Lefly, 67, who lives in the village, urged people to make their views known.

She said: “Our country roads cannot take any more traffic, we don’t have any police and youths have nowhere to go. Plus our drainage, sewage and flooding are all issues. This is a village and it cannot cope with much.”

Coun Chris Underwood-Frost, West Lindsey District Council ward member for Scotter, thanked residents for attending the event.

He said: “We all need to have our say on site allocations, especially in Scotter.”

“I agree we don’t need any large scale developments in Scotter but there are other places that would welcome some developments. Don’t sit back and do nothing – make sure you make your views known.”

Coun William Parry, also a ward member for the area, urged people to submit their views.

He added: “I would encourage everyone to fill in the questionnaire and send any additional comments to the JPU. If you do want any development to go ahead, let us here from you too.”

An event will take place in Gainsborough on Wednesday 31st July from 6pm to 8pm at Trent Valley Academy. The consultation ends on 16th September. To complete the consultation online visit http://surveys.n-kesteven.gov.uk/growing/growing.htm