370 homes and care home refused by South Kesteven council

More than 370 homes and a care home across South Kesteven have been rejected by district council bosses.

Proposals before the authority’s planning committee on Wednesday included 110 affordable houses and an 80-bed care home off Beaufort Drive in Bourne, and 260 homes off Millfield Road in Market Deeping.

Officers said the proposals did “not have substantial community support” and the site was “not sustainable”

More than 400 objections had been received from local residents.

Bourne’s town council and neighbourhood plan groups also both objected to the plans over concerns about sustainability, need, highway safety and the proposals’ place in the local plan.

Town Councillor Philip Knowles said Longhurst Group’s 110-home and Alysia Caring’s care home would see traffic generated by the development “plough through the town centre”.

How the 110 homes in Bourne would be laid out if approved.

County Councillor Sue Woolley said the proposals “sit in an area recognised as the green lung of Bourne”.

“They are not needed and would create an eyesore on the landscape,” she said.

“These proposals are not in the interest of Bourne residents.”

Other residents said local roads were already used as “rat runs” by morning traffic.

Andrew Hodgson, speaking on behalf of both applicants, said they were “disappointed” by the recommendation.

“We do not consider, in light of the national housing crisis this is the right recommendation,” he said.

“SKDC and Bourne have a clear need for housing.

“This is a sustainable development and represents a very high quality design.”

He argued that many of the objections carried little weight and that it appeared “people just do not want to see development on this site”.

He added there was a need for affordable housing in Bourne, and that none had been built in 2020.

Outline plans for where 260 houses could go if Lincolnshire County Council was given permission.

Lincolnshire County Council’s 260-home plans, officers said, also had no community support, but would be in a sustainable level and to a high standard of design.

The county council is not planning to build the houses, but wants to sell the land once planning is approved.

Market Deeping Town Council  and West Deeping Parish Council both opposed the proposals, along with 182 local residents.

Concerns included that the Draft Deepings Neighbourhood Plan wanted to designate the site as a local green space as well as the impact of traffic on Millfield Road and the A1175.

Market and West Deeping ward district councillor Ashley Baxter said the site was a “much loved public space” which had been used for years to host events, leisure and recreational activities including for the Deeping Show.

He supported the Friends of Mill Fields campaign to save the area and and application by them to turn it into a village green.

“Nobody wants this application which is a willful effort of wanton vandalism against the countryside by the county council,” he said.

The area is being considered as a village green and an inquiry is due to take place in the future, confirmed Deepings Town Councillor David Shelton.

The county council, however, says it is private land and used primarily for agriculture.

Pamela Shelton, chairman of the Friends of Mill Fields said the site was “historically and culturally important” to the town.

She said the green space application by the Friends was “localism at its best and should not be ignored or swept aside by powerful councils”.

The Friends of Mill Field and their supporters outside Lincolnshire County Council’s offices in September 2019. Photo: Daniel Jaines

Lynnette Swinburne, a spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council, however said that apart from a path through the site, it was a private area.

She said the proposal was sustainable and included a “generous” amount of green space – 22% of the overall site area – and a pathway around the outside.

“It is a very small proportion who seem to be concerned about the development nearby,” she said.