Cawston Parish Council Comment on Planning Application R22/0383 (Land adjacent to Heritage Close)

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At last week’s Parish Council meeting, planning application R22/0383 (Land adjacent to Heritage Close) was discussed. Parishioners were invited to attend the meeting and share their views on the application (and several did) and the Councillors then discussed the comment they would send to the Planning Department in regard to the application.

Cawston Parish Council’s comment can be found below. Please note that Cawston Parish Council are not the planning authority and have no jurisdiction to accept or reject an application – it can only give comment.

R22/0383 – 10 Dwelling Land West Side of Heritage Close
Cawston Parish Council objects to application R22/0383 for the following reasons:

  1. Safety – the layout of houses with parking at the rear of property could reduce the visibility for motorists on the Gerard Road island crossing. The land is situated between two other green spaces which sees children riding scooters or cycling between the two across the road. The Parish Council echoes the objections of WCC in this matter.
  2. Ecology – This site while currently unkempt is a haven for wildlife and would be sad loss of green space for Cawston. The Parish Council would ask that a further ecological survey of the site be undertaken in spring or summer as the current site survey was carried out in November.
  3. Density – the frontages of the proposed properties are very close in comparison to other properties around them on Gerard Road.
  4. Parking – the development of the proposed site will see an increase in car owners and therefore it will impact on the traffic overall within Cawston. Parking particularly is likely to cause further issues as the proposed dwellings only have parking at the rear and it is likely that some residents may simply park on the road at the front of their property or take up a valuable space in car park which is in place to support the amenities and shops on Gerard Road.

Outside of the scope of material planning grounds Cawston Parish Council would also like to query the process of the sale and purchase of the land, specifically how the land came to be for sale? It feels strongly that there should have been a wider public consultation by the developer/landowner before the planning application was submitted. While the sale, purchase and submission of the planning application may have followed due legal process, the Parish Council is disappointed that it was not kept informed or consulted. Finally, it would like to thank Planning Officer Lucy Davidson for her swift reply to the Parish Clerk when seeking an extension on the deadline of this application so Cawston Parish Council could have the opportunity to consider its response at a public meeting.