Response from Mr Simon Taylor, Aldingham Parish Council
1. Mr Simon Taylor, Aldingham Parish Council : 30 May 2008 13:01:00
To which part of the Report does your representation relate?
Paragraph or Section
The Preferred Option - PO2 - Rural Areas
Please state as clearly as you can the exact part of the Report you are commenting on by quoting the page number (if known), paragraph number, option name or number, or the number of the map, figure or table.
Alternative Options 1-4
Do you support, oppose or have an observation about this part of the Report?
Oppose
Please write your comment or explain your reasons for supporting or opposing this part of the Report. You may also wish to refer to the tests of soundess in the glossary of the Preferred Options document before making your comments.
Aldingham Parish Council met to discuss the Core Strategy Preferred Options and have commented as follows:-
APC notes with concern that of the 22 villages which are proposed to have their boundaries removed, 5 of them are within this Parish. They disagree with SLDC’s preferred options (i.e. 1 and 4) and would choose option 2 with caveats. They have put forward the following comments on the scheme.
1. APC would not want to see any removal or disregard of the existing village boundaries.
2. APC feels it is important to retain its voice in regard to planning applications. It feels that there is some risk that the weight of APC comments would diminish as a consequence of these proposals.
3. There are not enough existing amenities or services to facilitate unfettered expansion of the village boundaries – especially if the plan is to be effective for several years to come.
4. The existing transport infrastructure (i.e. road network and bus services) within the Parish would not support extensive development, especially that of business development.
5. Lots of pockets of piece-meal development could completely change the character of the Parish for the worse by encroaching into the agricultural landscape.
6. There is no single village that dominates the Parish like others – e.g. Pennington or Urswick. Aldingham Parish is made of 7 equal, yet completely different, village communities and must bear the opinions and requirements of each of them when it makes comment on planning applications.
7. Sporadic development outside the existing village boundaries, especially for affordable housing, may result in isolation of new properties, with little or no opportunity for integration into the wider community.
8. There is significant flood risk to all bar one of the villages in the Parish, especially at Newbiggin and Aldingham. New development would exacerbate that risk at all locations.
9. The council raised concerns as to who would fund small pockets of affordable housing. Surely it would not be cost effective for developers who tend to fund affordable properties in larger mixed developments.
There is also one point that the Council wishes to have clarified. It notes that the policy for local housing for local communities is to be widened to include residents of neighbouring parishes. One “Parish” that neighbours Aldingham is that of Barrow Borough Council. Does this mean that Barrow residents would have access to any affordable housing that may be built within Aldingham Parish boundaries?
Please indicate if you wish to be notified when the Core Strategy has been:
Adopted by the District Council