Response from Mr Mike Fell (Individual)
1. Mr Mike Fell (Individual) : 24 Jan 2018 11:09:00
Have you any other comments about the Draft Development Brief and the Draft Supporting Contextual Information Document?
Having been invited attendees at the consultation on 27 April 2017, and having also attended the public display /consultation on 11 January 2018 we have the following comments to make regarding the Phase 3B Draft Development.
In April 2012 we wrote to the then planning officer Mr Jackson at South Lakeland District Council to highlight our concerns of the then proposed new development for Mayfield Avenue and Pear Tree Park, extracts from which I have referred to in this response. It is now apparent that the majority of issues that we identified regarding highways, foul drainage and surface water drainage were not addressed by SLDC planners or the developer and as a result the adverse impacts that we highlighted have occurred and are now having a significant impact on residents of the adjacent properties which existed prior to the development.
The most significant change since the completion of the development is the increase in surface and ground water flooding of gardens in the older part of Mayfield Avenue and The Crescent. We also understand from the January consultation that the newer properties in the extension of Mayfield Avenue also suffer from significant waterlogging of their gardens. In our letter of 09 April 2002 we stated:
The planning statement identifies that roof drainage will be to soakaways, however, due to the existing ground water problems this may not be possible and could in fact make the existing ground water problems worse.
The developer will need to give careful consideration to accommodating the discharge from the springs within the site to prevent associated problems either within the development site or to the adjacent properties in Mayfield Avenue and The Crescent.
These issues clearly have not been addressed and we are now living with the consequences.
In addition, the 2 detention ponds which were constructed to reduce the impact of road and surface water drainage do not function. At no time during the significant rainfall events that we have experience over the last few years has any water flowed into these ponds from the drainage system. We believe that this may be having an impact on surface water and ground water flooding. This has been highlighted to the CCC highways representatives who have attended both meetings, however to date we are told that no progress has been made in assessing why the drainage system is not functioning as designed.
In terms of highway issues our previous comments were:
The Mayfield Avenue cul-de-sac is only 5m wide, and has significant on street parking, particularly in the early evening, overnight, and at weekends. The proposed connection of this road to the site roads of the Pear Tree Park development would enable Mayfield Avenue to be used as a through road not only from the Pear Tree Park development but also from North Road and Trinity Drive. Opening up a relatively narrow road to through traffic would create a significant traffic, and road safety hazard, that currently does not exist.
Since the completion of the Mayfield Avenue and Pear Tree Park developments we have seen a significant increase in through traffic volumes on the western end of Mayfield Avenue, and in some cases excessive speeds for a relatively narrow residential street. In addition to the vehicles of the property owners there are a significant number of commercial vehicles making deliveries and using the road as a through road between North Road and Milnthorpe Road. At a public consultation in 2002 we were assured that traffic calming measures would be put in place to at least reduce the speed of vehicles, however again this has not been carried out. This proposed new development with an addition 70+ properties will only make this situation worse.
In conclusion we believe that all of the negative impacts that have been created by the last development need to be addressed before any further development is planned, and in addition that a full drainage and hydrology study of the proposed development site and adjacent land needs to be undertaken to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated in the future.
Mr M and Mrs P Fell
16 Mayfield Avenue
Holme
