Plans to build 123 homes on former Long Sutton Butterfly Park are branded ‘ridiculous’
Plans to build more than 100 homes on the former Butterfly and Wildlife Park site have been branded ‘ridiculous’.
Fears have raised about the impact 123 new homes will have on the already congested Little London in Long Sutton after Brownmoor Developments had submitted a fresh planning application to build on the land.
Little London is already busy as it is home to University Academy Long Sutton, the Peele Leisure Centre and Rainbow Nursery as well as many home which do not all have enough off-road parking so cars, lorries and tractors regularly have to weave their way through the vehicles.
The Butterfly Park was a popular attraction in South Holland for more than 20 years but sadly closed its doors in October 2012 and the site has stood empty since then. Moor Solar was granted planning permission in 2014 for 87 eco homes to be built on the land – but this was never completed.
Brownmore Developments wants to build 123 homes – including 57 affordable units – with two areas of public open space on the site.
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One person who is strongly opposed to the new application is Long Sutton councillor David Wilkinson, who feels that this does not meet the eco expectations of the previous application and adds more pressure onto the already-busy road.
Coun Wilkinson said: “It is absolutely ridiculous. That road is already congested at the moment, especially at school time – you can’t move down there.
“Little London takes all of the traffic down to the marsh so you have Piccavers, LFP and all the HGV traffic and heavy tractors through there.
“The road is not fit for purpose to take that amount of extra vehicles that site is going to generate. Most people have two cars so we don't have the infrastructure and you can’t get anywhere easily by public transport.
“I go down there every day and the cars are parked on the left hand side as you go towards Gedney Drove End. The other morning there were 15 cars on the left hand side, just past the entrance to Daniel’s Crescent.
“You would hope that (the county council’s) highways wouldn’t do a desk based survey and come out and do a proper survey of the vehicles before making a comment.”
A request has been made for the application to be debated by the district’s planning committee by Coun Jack Tyrrell.
The developer wants to build a mixture of detached, semi-detached and terrace homes along with a number of bungalows.
It has promised to build two bed and three bedroom affordable and shared ownership properties. But offers of contributions to health and education are ‘subject to discussions with the planning authority’.
A planning statement issued with the proposal stated: “The proposed development will provide 123 new homes, 57 of which will be affordable homes.
“The site benefits from an extant permission and therefore the principle for residential development on the site is acceptable.
“The proposals will provide a high-quality housing development which has been specifically designed for the site and to respect the character of the locality. A robust landscaping and open space scheme has been provided to create a green development which will assist in improving bio-diversity
“The dwellings will provide a juxtaposition between traditional vernacular forms and a more contemporary simple aesthetic. It is therefore submitted that the proposals meet the requirements of the Local Plan and planning permission should be approved.”
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