Policy VC BAP1: Former Concrete Batching Plant, south of Church Road

Support

Representation ID: 2328

Received: 14/02/2023

Respondent: FW Properties

FW Properties consider VC BAP1 to be a suitable and deliverable location for new homes within the village. The regeneration of this brownfield site as a residential development would provide social and environmental benefits to the local community. The site is immediately available and FW Properties consider the development of 25 new homes to be viable and deliverable. The site is not subject to any delivery constraints which would prevent its development for housing and we believe that the site specific requirements attached to this draft allocation can all be fulfilled. Therefore, VC BAP1 should be taken forward for allocation.

Object

Representation ID: 2374

Received: 20/02/2023

Respondent: Mr Ian Brown

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Access to Alpington and Bergh Apton is very poor. We have repeatedly been told that there will be no new development until the access is improved. The public transport provision is so poor that most journeys involve cars. The primary school is full. The nearest shop is in Poringland, two miles away.

Object

Representation ID: 2406

Received: 22/02/2023

Respondent: Ms Audrey Chappell

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Too many houses are planned. 25 dwellings would mean at least 50 extra cars on these narrow rural roads. Too far for children to walk to school and the increase in traffic will make cycling and walking even more uncomfortable.

Object

Representation ID: 2424

Received: 23/02/2023

Respondent: Mrs Lesley McNulty

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

This is a brown field site which makes it more palatable than the Alpington /Yelverton site in the same Cluster. It is however totally inaccessible to the school other than by driving.
Vehicle traffic will increase from the current c29,000 per month on Church Road on roads that are in the main single track.

Object

Representation ID: 2478

Received: 26/02/2023

Respondent: Mr. Ivan Green

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

I fully endorse the previous objections.

Object

Representation ID: 2605

Received: 02/03/2023

Respondent: Mr jonathan taylor

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

I am struggling to understand how anybody can think this is an appropriate site for development other than it is brownfield. The road network is appalling, there are no pavements, no easy access to any shops other than by car, even Alpington school is not walkable so it basically has nothing for it other than brownfield. Its development will put more traffic onto minor one lane roads. None of the proposed sites have suitable road access.

Object

Representation ID: 2730

Received: 05/03/2023

Respondent: Mr Richard Crome

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

This proposal for potentially 100 people is far too big and is away from the linear form of the village, forming an insular neighbourhood with little direct contact with existing inhabitants.
Access from The Street is on a blind bend. All routes to the west are single track with no constructed passing places . Dual track roads to the east are not passable for their full length. Proposed road improvements are not practical.
The local primary school is at capacity and GP, dentist and other facilities at Poringland and Loddon are over stretched from vast developments in those areas.

Object

Representation ID: 2814

Received: 06/03/2023

Respondent: Mrs Sue Price

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Bergh Apton is a small village classification 5. Already had an additional 23 dwellings in last 8 years.
Narrow roads to site from all directions which are being damaged by already increased traffic. 25 dwellings will create further large increase in vehicles making walking/cycling hazardous in 60mph speed limit zone especially at school/work time.
No safe cycle routes to main centres of employment.
Potential increase in light pollution.
Local school is full.

Object

Representation ID: 2815

Received: 06/03/2023

Respondent: Bergh Apton Parish Council

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

The number of houses is excessive especially given that BA has had 27 developments in the last 8 years. It was noted the current commercial site has minimal traffic and as a rural village, there is little infrastructure and therefore very much a car orientated development. Improvements to the highways will be difficult because most of the roads from the sites are single track or very narrow and there are no footpaths. Concerns about the lack of school capacity in the area will further result in children being taken to school by car, especially considering the 25 houses at Alpington.

Object

Representation ID: 2840

Received: 06/03/2023

Respondent: Mrs Nicola Warde-Aldam

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Too much traffic for single road that is already used alot
25 houses is too many
That is at least another 50/60 cars on this narrow quiet lane
No facilities nearby without using a car except dog walking
We are not disagreeing with the houses just the amount of houses
the lanes further through the villages will all be affected too
Down to Brooke and Alpington
This is a dispersed village without any facilities

Object

Representation ID: 2845

Received: 06/03/2023

Respondent: Mr Guy Warde-Aldam

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

SUMMARY
1. Nearest non single track road 2 miles away.
2. Vehicle movements to site currently minimal. Proposed use will increase very significantly vehicle movements.
3. Need for "buffer" on our western boundary.
4. Pressure on local infrastructure.
5. 25 houses too many. We think the number should be 12.
6. 20 mph speed limit to west of site.

Object

Representation ID: 2918

Received: 07/03/2023

Respondent: Mr David Skedge

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The Clusters is based on Primary School Catchment areas.B.A.has no school and no safe access to Alpington School.This is why it is classed as an “other”village,category 5 under GNLP hierarchy.The preferred site is very remote and will impact severely on narrow local roads requiring passing places.Village services are minimal.The proposal is unsound socially and environmentally.There will be a major increase in traffic as the development is car orienrated.The existing commercial use generates very little traffic or noise.

Object

Representation ID: 2980

Received: 08/03/2023

Respondent: Mr Trevor Price

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

The size of this development is inappropriate for Bergh Apton. The characteristics of this village are set by small scale linear, or isolated ‘pockets’ of houses or farm buildings. This arrangement of development makes this place special and well loved.
The size of this development and the likely estate format of the development will be alien to the character of the village. It will set a precedent for future larger schemes.
The single track road network without pavements will become hazardous due to increased traffic created. It would be difficult and unsafe to walk children to school from this location.

Object

Representation ID: 3045

Received: 08/03/2023

Respondent: Ms Annie Whiteman

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Yes

Bergh Apton is a rural ‘other’ village classified as Level 5, because there are very few services available, and because the nearest primary school is in Alpington. This often necessitates use of a car. Putting possibly 25 houses on this site will increase this, especially as the roads are narrow and primarily 60mph limit, and there is no safe, easy route to get to school.
There have been 27 developments over the last 8years., in pockets built under JCS. Putting 25 more houses in one place in a likely estate format will be alien to the character of the village.

Object

Representation ID: 3053

Received: 08/03/2023

Respondent: Mrs Janet Skedge

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The proposal is far too large to fit the existing character of Bergh Apton,a rural village described by S.N.C.planners as a collection of small hamlets,which include the listed Taylor and Green dwellings on Church Road.Currently,this is a valuable commercial site,the only one in the village.Before permission to change use to housing,careful consideration is needed to avoid losing it.Potentially it could be like the site on Mill Road,Alpington,occupied by Russell Civil Engineering.The site was not chosen for housing under the J.C.S.,being regarded as remote.The large housing estate proposed,being car orientated,would put undue pressure on the existing settlement.

Object

Representation ID: 3066

Received: 03/03/2023

Respondent: Miss Angela Rowe

Number of people: 2

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

I think the proposed development is far too large a number of dwellings for the area, the density of housing completely out of keeping with anything in Bergh Apton and the location means that the occupants of the site are going to be heavily, if not fully, reliant on their cars to access local services safely. There are no footpaths, no cycle paths and no 'alternative routes' that can get you from the proposed site without extensive walking/cycling on narrow roads.

I fully respect the rights of the owners of the proposed site to seek a financial return on their investment and I understand that this quantity of housing would probably result in all their costs being covered as well as achieving a comfortable profit. I think the proposal is excessive, unsafe and unsustainable for the area, inconsiderate and wholly inappropriate.

Object

Representation ID: 3101

Received: 06/03/2023

Respondent: Ms Sheridan Winn

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

The roads in Bergh Apton are almost all single lane with 60mph limits. We were refused a 30mph limit last summer.

Church Road is narrow and winding and cannot accommodate another 50+ cars every day.

There is one shop at the far end of village 1.3 miles away. There is no safe route to the school. Alpington Primary School, already heavily oversubscribed, is well over a mile away and there are no pavements or footpaths. Walking is hazardous in this village.

It is poor planning to plonk such a large development on a small village – and is a decision clearly made with the size of the 1.65 hectare site in mind, not whether it is appropriate.

Has anyone in the planning department visited this site? Has anyone noted the width of our roads and lack of infrastructure?

Object

Representation ID: 3117

Received: 07/03/2023

Respondent: Ms Diane Hinkly

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Plan VCBAP1 is unsound other than keeping the hedging and trees in this plan - there is nothing else considered rural. A modern noisy housing estate, widening roads causing residents in the Taylor & Green homes to subjected to disruption, modification of the entire area would lose the peace and quiet of the rural, quirky, oldy worldy village. We would be overlooking a housing estate from our properties, putting up with all the noise from the estate, as well as an increase of cars and noise and people. And, what about the valuations of our properties? View? What about the impact on wildlife? None fo the modern houses built in Bergh Apton over the last 10 years have been welcomed by the residents - unfortunately - Bergh Apton is full of a large number of older residents, no laptops, no way to have their say.

Support

Representation ID: 3157

Received: 01/03/2023

Respondent: Historic England

We welcome the addition of the policy criterion in relation to listed buildings.