Response from Drs John & Carol Glaister & Allen (Individual)
1. Drs John & Carol Glaister & Allen (Individual) : 20 Jan 2016 15:09:00
Please make your comments below on the section you have selected. Where appropriate, make reference to the paragraph number you are referring to, your preferred option, the question number asked in the Discussion Paper and the reference number of the site you are commenting on.
We have attended the AONB DPD Consultation Event and considered the Issues and Options Discussions Paper, site suggestion maps and draft Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report. Please acknowledge receipt of this email.
We wish to make the following comments on Meeting Housing Needs in the Warton Village Area concerning 'Sites being assessed for development'.
1 Flooding concerns: Sites being assessed for development: W84, W85, W86 and W90 are currently underwater and cannot be considered suitable for development. Other sites beneath Warton Crag, W87, W88, W89 & W95, are steeply sloping sites which carry much water from the upland. If covered with concrete and tarmac this would result in more flooding within the village. Currently (9 Dec 2015) a large lake has crept over adjacent low-lying properties in the village.
2 Visual impact on the AONB: Elevated sites above the general level of the village will visually affect the AONB. There will be a visual impact on the Scheduled Ancient Monument of Warton Crag.
3 Infrastructure: Traffic increase in the Sand Lane/Main Street junction will be problematic in an area which is already congested. This junction is full of large holes where an underground spring adds to surface degradation in wet weather. The footpaths between school and Sand Lane, and Sand Lane and Carnforth are inadequate for families with children and pushchairs.
4 Government Policy: George Osborne stated in Parliament that there would be no building in AONBs. Why is this being considered? Green Belt building is to be considered for affordable housing. We understand that there is considerable reluctance on the part of developers in the area to build affordable housing on Green belt as they cannot make any profit. Nor do they want to pay for the infrastructure required.
5 A Local Plan for Lancaster District (Oct 2015): This states that there will be no alteration to Green belt boundaries 'unless there are exceptional circumstances' and no exceptional case has been put forward.
6 Housing Need: Warton Parish Council suggested, at a recent meeting, that the housing needs of Warton are already being met by planning applications which are currently in hand. So is there a real need for additional houses, and where would the occupants work?
Carol Allen and John Glaister
