MINUTES OF ADDITIONAL MEETING OF
RIBBY WITH WREA PARISH COUNCIL
On Thursday 1st. November 2012
At Wrea Green Institute
Commencing At 19.30 Hours
Attendees: Cllr. Mrs. J.L. Wardell (Chairman), Cllrs. J.W. Dobson, K.J. Lupton,
J.C. Maskell, J.M. Molyneux, Mrs. P.A. Naylor, and Mrs. C.E. Wheatman.
There were three members of the public in attendance.
13/92 APOLOGIES and DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST.
- 1. Apologies – Cllrs. Mrs. A.E. Uphill and Br. Cllr. F.A. Andrews.
- 2. Declarations of Interest: – None received.
13/93 PLANNING
1. Application:
12/0456 RESUBMISSION OUTLINE PERMISSION- 54 BRYNING LANE
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT of 25 DWELLINGS
The meeting was opened from 19.31 hours to 1934 hours to allow public participation.
This Council STRONGLY OBJECT to the proposal and recommend REFUSAL.
The NPPF guidance clearly outlines that sustainability is paramount and should meet the needs of the area. By any realistic calculation this site would not qualify. The sustainability assessment produced is grossly flawed. The nearest town centres at Kirkham and Lytham are well in excess of 3kms, and Warton is not a town in any way for this purpose- score 0. As already identified by the borough council, Brook Mill is not a business park of any consequence – there are only 26 employees at this site with virtually no room for any expansion. This is not a potential employment area other than on a modest basis – score 0. There is not an acceptable bus service passing this site with the nearest bus stop being in excess of 800 metres – score 1. The development of an unwanted play area purely for this site and the limited housing in close proximity is blatantly included to obtain additional accessibility points and is not based on village need. The Parish Council would not be prepared to take over the cost of this unnecessary facility and once the developer’s agreed maintenance time was over it would no doubt fall into decay or the site would be cleared. Again as it is not sustainable the realistic score should be 0. Whether the pub, village post office, and library- only mobile once a week – are within 800 metres, other than as the crow flies, is also very questionable and weakened further as the nearest proposed dwelling on the site is said to be 100 metres from Bryning Lane. Moreover, any responsible adult would not allow children to use the “defined cycle route” which is very dangerous to say the least, because of the numbers and speed of traffic utilising this narrow country C class lane. This site is also not classified as brownfield but countryside outside the village settlement.
It is extremely questionable that the access/egress to Bryning Lane would meet the Highway road width requirement of 4.5 metres without 54 Bryning Lane being demolished, and, based on local viewing, the sight line criterion could not be achieved without removal of an element of the garden at 56 Bryning Lane.
The land and local houses, particularly at the adjacent Bryning Avenue, already have surface water flooding problems. To exacerbate this situation would not be reasonable. The linkage to the sewer system would also be a major exercise, because of the land fall situation and the extant shallow and small sewer pipes. The current sewerage system at present stops at 52 Bryning Lane, and even then a modest pumping station would be needed. Moreover, the current septic tank arrangements for the houses further along Bryning Lane are already problematical. It is understood that the United Utilities has reservations.
There is also an absence of a full ecology report without which this the proposition should not be determined. It is therefore not prudent to agree a development in the absence of such a major document.
Although retirement bungalows would be welcomed and are needed in Wrea Green this site is too far from the village’s facilities for this to be feasible. With the approval of the 55 house development at the land adjacent to Richmond Avenue the pressure on the village primary school, which already has only a modest level of availability – well known in this village, would not be able to accept additional children from this proposed development. This would result in children having to be taken by car to outlining schools outside the Wrea Green catchment area creating additional CO2 omissions.
Approval of this proposition would also create a rounding off aspect which would encourage further larger developments to destroy the rural village ambience of Lancashire’s Best Kept Village. Finally, with the recent Redrow development and the recently agreed Wain Homes application this would represent an increase of more than 15% in the housing stock in the Wrea Green, excluding the separate Ribby hamlet.
13/94 FINANCIAL MATTERS
1. Payment of Accounts
The following payments were approved:-
2052 Fylde Borough Council Wreaths Remembrance Sunday £ 40-00 net
2056 Green Spaces War Memorial Lawn Treatment £ 20-00 net
2057 J. Dobson Winter Plants for War Memorial £200-00 net
2058 Alan Burrows Repairs to Green Benches £111-14 net
13/95 The meeting CLOSED at 19.52 Hours
Cllr. Janet Wardell – Chairman 12 November 2012