East Cambridgeshire District Council has published maps of the sites which will be proposed for housing in the next draft of its Local Plan. The maps can be viewed here.
- In the next 24 hours, the council will publish the reports which will accompany the maps – these will contain a lot more information.
- Next Wednesday, 16 November, the council will be asked to approve the draft Plan as being ready to go out to public consultation.
SUTTON
The council has proposed housing North of The Brook (Linden Homes) and East of Garden Close (Endurance Estates), and employment land allocation at the Elean Business Park. Also see Mepal below. These two sites were ranked 1 and 3 respectively by Sutton Parish Council who were asked to express preferences for the various sites put forward by developers.
MEPAL
The council has proposed housing on the land bounded by Brick Lane, Sutton Road, and the A142. Despite being the other side of the A142, this land is in fact in Sutton parish. It was ranked 2 by Sutton Parish Council in its preferences for development.
WITCHAM
The council has proposed one site for housing, to the west of The Slade.
COVENEY
The council has proposed no sites for Coveney.
WARDY HILL
The council has proposed no sites for Wardy Hill.
LITTLE DOWNHAM
The council has proposed one site for housing, west of Ely Road and south of the junction with Cannon Street.
PYMOOR
The council has proposed one site for housing, at the north west end of Straight Furlong.
WITCHFORD
The council has proposed housing at two sites immediately south of the A142 north of Granta Close and Field End, and also at Land off Meadow Close; and employment space at the Sedgeway Business Park. See the Ely maps for the Lancaster Way business park. Six areas of Local Green Space have also been included.
I have no difficulty with the A 142/Brick Lane proposal in Mepal. Every village must be allowed to evolve naturally and this seems an appropriate site.
My concern is with Bridge Road. It lies outside the village envelope yet for some years the planners have allowing the worst sort of unplanned ribbon development to evolve.
The road is evolving into a terrible blend of unrelated residences and ‘horsey culture’ of the tackiest sort. The attractive grazing fields are giving way to unplanned urban dereliction.
This creeping process needs to brought under control – the Council should close the whole planning department and allow what is already happening without Council Tax/ Rate Payers having to fund a department no longer permitted to carry out it’s function. Sadly it would be no worse than what is going on now.
Unplanned development in Bridge Road, Mepal.
Sadly I failed to mention that the idea of drainage for these new houses to soakaways is ridiculous. We know from the days before mains drainage that in bodied clay soils they do not work after a year or two. The cure used to be to connect them to the nearest ditch in the depth of night. Just consider the public health implications.