Council backs down yet again

FOR the second time this year the district council has backed down on planning restrictions designed to prevent additional traffic problems in Ashbourne.

The article in last week’s

News Telegraph revealed that a requirement to build infrastructure before factories and homes on the Airfield site had been relaxed at a district council planning meeting.

Readers may have not been aware that a requirement to restrict to 30 the number of houses occupied on the Wilson Homes development off Old Derby Road was also reversed by the council earlier this year.

This controversial development of 200 houses was initially refused planning permission – but it was granted on appeal.

In the appeal ruling, the Inspector, John Felgate, commented at length on the impact of the development on the traffic congestion at the Derby Road/sturston Road five-way junction which is operating at or beyond capacity.

The compromise proposal by the developer was an alteration in road layout at the junction that might have achieved a little more capacity.

That alteration was required to be completed before more than 30 houses could be occupied.

This planning condition was removed earlier this year without it being referred to a planning committee.

Following representations from the developer directly to the County Council Transport Dept, the Council have agreed to accept £25,000 towards unspecified improvements to the junction, with no time-scale indicated for their completion.

In all of this, the people most directly affected by the traffic congestion and resultant air pollution – the significant number of people who live around that busy junction – were never asked for their opinion or given a chance to express their views in a public meeting. Peter Dobbs Windmill Lane