‘All local services are under pressure’
CONCERN has been expressed in a Nottinghamshire town that new homes could put a strain on already limited resources.
Residents in Southwell are frustrated with a planning application that has proposed a further 64 houses for the outskirts of the town, off Lower Kirklington Road.
The site is currently being used for agricultural purposes. A property which stands on a small part of the land could be demolished to allow for the 64 houses and associated access and infrastructure to be built.
Local residents say they are worried the new houses will not only put more pressure on their doctors’ office and school, but will lead to further traffic on the main road and several houses will also lose privacy with a road being built at the end of their gardens.
Semi-retired Susan Fisher, 67, said: “I’ve not got any concerns about the building itself, but it’s going to be a problem as we can’t get into the doctors now and there’s no dentist here and the schools are all full as well.
“It will increase traffic. It’s just going to create more problems.”
Retired Charles Gilmore, 69, said: “The developments in Southwell are just getting more and more, there’s already 45 houses that I think have been approved.
“Schools are under pressure, all local services are under pressure.”
The 64 houses proposed by Redrow Homes Ltd would cover 2.9 hectares of land.
These would include 34 homes with four bedrooms or more, as well as three two-bedroom homes and eight three-bedroom homes. In addition to demolition and the houses, 167 car parking spaces will also need to be provided.
When asked about the proposed development, a Southwell resident who did not wish to be named said: “I don’t actually have a problem with it. I see it as a way of helping the next generation with there being more housing. But I do recognise that some people have concerns about the pressures that it will have on facilities in Southwell.”
If the planning for the homes is given approval, a property off Lower Kirklington Road would need to be demolished.
Midwife, Angie Clark, 44, also has concerns about the development, as the new road will go across the end of her garden.
She said: “We will still just catch the road at the bottom of the garden. It’s more the volume of houses for us.
“We are going to miss having that space. We bought the house knowing there would be houses on that bit, but they have gone from 12 to a ridiculous number.”
Marketing manager Kathryn Davies, 55, said: “I’m worried about the lack of green space and the wildlife because it’s a really beautiful little street. It’s just a rough track but there are a lot of hedgehogs and a wildflower area.”
An ecological appraisal has found that habitats within the site are of low ecological value and are not a constraint to the development of the site.
However, recommendations have been made for further surveys to inform the planning application.
Retired Terry Kirkhan, 80, is one of the residents who will be losing privacy due to the demolition, as the house neighbours his property.
Gesturing to his house and his neighbours, Terry said: “It’s these two houses they are going to affect most. I’m not too much objecting about the houses being down there, but it’s the road.”
He added: “I’ve seriously looked at moving, but at my age you don’t want to be moving.”
SOUTHWELL RESIDENTS ‘CONCERNED’ OVER 64 NEW HOMES PLAN