Response from Mr Malcolm Churchill (Individual)
1. Mr Malcolm Churchill (Individual) : 10 May 2011 15:47:00
Settlement
Broughton in Furness
Map Number
37 Broughton in Furness
Site reference number (e.g. R62) - If your comment is about a specific site you must indicate the correct site reference.
R163M
Housing
Oppose
Please explain your reasons
Broughton is and always has been a rural community with a dominant farming interest. The site identified under allocation R163M is an important part of a large field long used for grazing stock - sheep during winter/spring and cattle in the summer/autumn period. If the portion identified in the map is allocated for housing development the remainder of the field will have little viable use since, on its own, the part of the field remaining, comprising a steep rocky outcrop, would not be suitable nor sufficient for grazing or have potential for any other use. As such, the site remaining would be difficult to manage and likely to become derelict.
The text of the plan refers to access to the proposed development being from Foxfield Road via the allocation site R186. This section of Foxfield Road is on a tight chicane bend and would present a very serious traffic hazard. The highways agency have always applied tight restrictions on developments in this area. Foxfield Road is a bus route for both school and public services and is the only means of access for the large pantechnicon vehicles that visit the auction market in the centre of the village to deliver and/or collect animals. On market days farm trailers park along Foxfield Road and the access to R186 would be severely obscured.
The proposed housing development of 16 premises on R163M will add to the urban sprawl of Broughton. The SLDC plan appears to be in direct opposition to the approach taken by the National Parks authority which is responsible for the land to the west of Foxfleld Road where they and the Parish Council have rejected recent proposals for grazing fields to be utilised for development purposes. The National Parks Plan appears to take a much more measured approach to conserving the rural nature of Broughton.
The plan makes passing reference to possible drainage/sewage connection problems and this is likely to be of major concern for such a large development. The existing services were not installed for the quantity of properties now envisaged and are unlikely to be able to cope with the additional capacity. Any necessary major service development work would be very detrimental to the existing residents and cause considerable local opposition to a development proposal.
