Local Development Framework Consultation

Levens

26 Open Countryside Sites near Levens, Gilpin Bridge and Frosthwaite

R682LVM

Oppose

• I understand that the site has an existing covenant that prevents the building of houses.
• The open land that this covenant seeks to protect provides the iconic landscape view of the village when approaching from Sizergh Fell. The proposed houses lie across and disrupt the existing linear development line which follows the hill contour.
• There is no existing downhill access to the main conduits along Hutton Lane for drainage water and sewage. These will need to be pumped uphill.
• There is already an existing problem of surface water runoff from the fields causing flooding in certain houses along Hutton Lane, several which are built into the hillside below ground level. I am concerned that concreting over the area will increase the rate of runoff.
• The site is steep and access will need to be from the narrow road above. This will create problems of vehicular access, particularly during freezing conditions in winter which will result in residents leaving cars along the top road creating traffic problems. This already occurs regularly at the Nethercroft development in Levens.
• The site will need to be isolated from Old Chapel Lane as footsteps along this lane reverberate in the rooms of the existing houses which are below ground level. Pedestrians already walk along at bedroom level. Any increase in pedestrian traffic would be intolerable, particularly at night.
• The existing utilities are already inadequate. The electricity supply to Hutton Lane is unreliable. The telephone network for the whole village is antiquated, such that it is already unable to provide reliable internet access even of moderate speed for existing users. Services such as BT Vision will not run given the present infrastructure. Putting further strain on these systems by adding extra households will cause them to cease to function at all. Reliable and fast internet access is a requirement for modern living.
• There is a great danger of building a holiday home village on the site with little local occupancy. It is difficult to see why it is necessary to build so many houses for which there is so little existing local demand. Any development should concentrate on affordable starter homes on sites that are acceptable to existing residents. The environmental cost of linking starter homes to full cost housing is too high. The lack of a bus service linked to a lack of local jobs brings into question the viability of the whole proposal for Levens.

Levens

10 Levens

RN121M

Support

There is the possibility of sympathetically building a limited number of low rise houses on this site provided they are built along the contour of the hillside and not across it. They could be made less visually obtrusive by tree planting.This would allow fields R682LV and R682LVM to be retained as a core open green area within the village. This latter point would ensure that infilling with houses did not occur at a later date

Levens

10 Levens

R682LVM

Oppose

• I understand that the site has an existing covenant that prevents the building of houses.
• The open land that this covenant seeks to protect provides the iconic landscape view of the village when approaching from Sizergh Fell. The proposed houses lie across and disrupt the existing linear development line which follows the hill contour.
• There is no existing downhill access to the main conduits along Hutton Lane for drainage water and sewage. These will need to be pumped uphill.
• There is already an existing problem of surface water runoff from the fields causing flooding in certain houses along Hutton Lane, several which are built into the hillside below ground level. I am concerned that concreting over the area will increase the rate of runoff.
• The site is steep and access will need to be from the narrow road above. This will create problems of vehicular access, particularly during freezing conditions in winter which will result in residents leaving cars along the top road creating traffic problems. This already occurs regularly at the Nethercroft development in Levens.
• The site will need to be isolated from Old Chapel Lane as footsteps along this lane reverberate in the rooms of the existing houses which are below ground level. Pedestrians already walk along at bedroom level. Any increase in pedestrian traffic would be intolerable, particularly at night.
• The existing utilities are already inadequate. The electricity supply to Hutton Lane is unreliable. The telephone network for the whole village is antiquated, such that it is already unable to provide reliable internet access even of moderate speed for existing users. Services such as BT Vision will not run given the present infrastructure. Putting further strain on these systems by adding extra households will cause them to cease to function at all. Reliable and fast internet access is a requirement for modern living.
• There is a great danger of building a holiday home village on the site with little local occupancy. It is difficult to see why it is necessary to build so many houses for which there is so little existing local demand. Any development should concentrate on affordable starter homes on sites that are acceptable to existing residents. The environmental cost of linking starter homes to full cost housing is too high. The lack of a bus service linked to a lack of local jobs brings into question the viability of the whole proposal for Levens.

Levens

10 Levens

RN123

Support

A prime candidate for redevelopment as housing. It would remove a major eyesore within the village.

Levens

10 Levens

R680LV

Oppose

This site would be visually obtrusive, abutting onto the pleasant single track lane into the village. Construction of houses would generate extra traffic that would have to use this lane, thereby worsening the already restricted access into the village.

Levens

10 Levens

RN127

Support

This site is probably the least worst option as it is alongside a wider road and would not create the access problems noted for other sites. Also, because the site is not elevated, any development would be visually less intrusive. The site is also contiguous with the existing development line.

Levens

10 Levens

R51M

Support in part

A case can be made for some limited development as there is already a road connection. However, there are many problems. The number of houses proposed is grossly excessive for a village of limited size. Houses will generate extra traffic through an existing residential area. There are also major problems of water supply and sewage. Water pressure at the top of Greengate is already inadequate.