Planning brawl over land behind Long Bennington pub?
Two planning applications regarding the same piece of land in Long Bennington, have been submitted to the district and county council.
The Newriver Retail Property Trust plan to build eight houses on what they describe in their application to South Kesteven District Council as ‘unused grassland’, situated behind The Royal Oak pub and car park off the Main Road.
However another application has been made by Long Bennington Parish Council and submitted to Lincolnshire County Council, to officially register the same piece of land as a village green.
Ruth Tytherley, who lives in Long Bennington with her family on Sparrow Lane, said: “It is not unused grassland, but has been used by the local community for a considerable time.”
Mrs Tytherley has formed an action group against the housing plans, but says many villagers are becoming ‘disillusioned’ about their ability to stop new developments. “It is becoming a small town,” she added.
The group is supported by county councillor and Long Bennington resident Paul Wood, who said: “I have lived here for 25 years and there has always been a bonfire night on that land and it has been used for fetes.”
He added: “Although it is not an official village green, it has always been used as one and I think it should remain.”
Meanwhile Newriver Retail Property Trust’s proposals for six detached and two semi-detached homes will go before SKDC’s development control committee.
An LCC spokesperson confirmed: “We have received an application for an area of land to be registered as a village green at Long Bennington. The application is currently being considered by our legal services team to assess whether it’s valid and meets the required criteria.
“We are aware that there is also currently an application to build eight dwellings in the area with South Kesteven District Council. Both applications will be considered separately by the relevant parties.”