Many residents of Spalding and the wider area of South Holland will be aware of the Government and the Lincolnshire County Council’s proposals for a large building programme, namely the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan (SELLP).
Here in Spalding, and due to South Holland District Council’s failure to maintain their five-year building programme, the Local Plan has been commissioned with a vast number of ‘preferred sites’ where they suggest residential housing could be built.
There have been a number of so called public consultations, but very little detail was forthcoming especially on the total numbers of houses to be built and any infrastructure to be built alongside these developments.
Using Weston as an example, this is how I see the Local Plan impacting on the village:
Weston currently has approximately 450 residential dwellings, SHDC have calculated that by using their ‘preferred sites’, which have gone from 13 down to 4 they would set a target of just over 300 new dwellings which increases the village size by 69%.
All these sites are prime agricultural land,
With other smaller developments having either been given the green light or where development has already begun, the total number would be in the region of 350,
which would increase the village size by 77%.
Currently Weston has a small corner shop which doubles as the Post Office, a public house, a church with no current incumbent vicar and a small primary school with a capacity of 56 with currently 45 pupils.
The Government’s white paper states that any new development should have infrastructure built alongside that; however at a Parish Council meeting last year a planning officer stated that there was no money for infrastructure.
The SELLP – Version March 2017 also quoted the Government’s white paper statement over building infrastructure alongside new developments, but this document does not give any detailed commitment what infrastructure would be built.
Lastly, the only comments that an individual could make regarding the Local Plan – March 2017 was on either on its legality or soundness of the plan.
In my opinion the Local Plan and especially SHDC have failed in the ‘soundness ‘of the plan as there is no guarantee of any infrastructure being built.
It also intends to use prime agricultural land at a time the Government is calling for more food to be produce for the ever increasing population of the UK. How does this fit into a ‘sound plan’.
If this is the plan for Weston, and South Holland in general, I hesitate to think what could occur throughout South Holland, when the Council appear to have little or no idea of what infrastructure is required, knowing that the nearest emergency hospital is in Boston, doctors’ surgeries either at or to near capacity and also schooling which I would suggest would be hit by a increased population all vying for the best school to where they live.
It’s about time SHDC informed the residents of South Holland what their plan actually entails and how it is likely to impact on them in the future.
C Dicks
Weston
Spalding
