Response from Mr Martin Brown (Individual)
1. Mr Martin Brown (Individual) : 25 Jun 2017 21:11:00
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Silverdale - part of S50
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XX St John’s Avenue
Silverdale
CARNFORTH
Lancashire
LA5 0SU
24 June 2017
SLDC Development Plans Team
South Lakeland House
Lowther Street
KENDAL
Cumbria
LA9 4DL
Dear Sirs
Proposal for Residential Development in the field to the East of St John’s Avenue: Site S50
I and my wife reside in St John’s Avenue, Silverdale and came to Silverdale in 1994 having built a property on Stankelt Road and then moved to St John’s Avenue in 2002. That said, we can see that the environ around Silverdale would be adversely affected if a development of numerous houses were introduced to the village area.
The site considered at St John’s would not be, in our opinion, to the overall advantage of the village.
There is the serious problem of ingress and egress from site S50. At present, at the exit to St John’s, onto the main road through the village, is difficult because of sight lines both to the right and left as cars are parked opposite the exit to the main road and along the exit Avenue. On numerous occasions cars turning onto St John’s have had to reverse onto the main road to allow for cars exiting the avenue. Also, the amount of additional traffic to and from St John’s and the new development would exponentially increase the traffic flow to uncontrollable numbers. There is already a problem in the village requiring a 20mph speed restriction.
There are two schools in close proximity to St John’s. The primary school is less than 200 yards from the junction and more traffic along the roadway could cause a foreseeable accident so the risk to the health and welfare of children should be at the forefront of any planner’s considerations. However, to greater concern to the planners should be the presence of Bleasdale School, an outstanding school (as indicated by Ofsted). Bleasdale School is a specialist school for children and young adults with profound and multiple learning difficulties. The school is situated on a split site on either side of the main road through the village and this necessitates the carers pushing wheelchairs across the road from one site to the other. Any additional traffic flow would cause danger to these vulnerable members of the community.
There has always been a question of sewerage for the village and the effluent flowing into the bay area which affects the ecology of the area. A further influx of housing would put additional unnecessary pressure on the systems presently in place. This would not be corrected by each house having its own klargester because then there is the question of to where the treated water would flow.
The recommendations now seems to be that such klargester should not be placed near to neighbours’ property so gardens would have to be out of proportion to the house positioned on the plot. Could additional housing cause flooding of drains with the run off of rain water?
Most of the inhabitants of Silverdale have views over the local woodlands and pasturelands which would be reduced by additional development. The village is an ancient village within an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and this must be respected and considered if any development were to be considered, not only at site S50, but any other in the village surrounds.
Of the inhabitants of the village, anyone who still works must travel out of the village because there is limited employment and hence more vehicles would clog up the area, the amenities and the roads in and out of Silverdale (there really is only three exits to the nearest towns). The public transport for the area has been reduced in recent years following government directions so that places more reliance on private transportation in and out of the village, namely cars.
Then, finally, there is the threat to the indigenous wildlife that is in and around Silverdale. There are deer, protected birds and, of course, the RSPB Reserve. The wildlife is an important part of the character of the village and induces walkers/ramblers and twitchers to the village which in turn increases the viability of the village.
Overall, we are sympathetic to the development and sustainability of a village. However, as set out above, the proposals for Site S50 and/or any other development of Silverdale would be detrimental to the overall character of this village and to the safety to its residents and visitors.
Yours faithfully
Martin Brown Joyce Brown
Copy to: Planning and Housing Policy Team
Town Hall
Marine Road East
MORECAMBE
LA4 5AF
