Church Farmhouse, 7 Seagry Rd, Sutton Benger, Chippenham, Wiltshire
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Church Farmhouse, 7 Seagry Rd, Sutton Benger, Chippenham, Wiltshire. SN15 4RY 28th April 2014 Area Development Manager Development Services Wiltshire Council Dear Sir APPLICATION NO: 14/03544/FUL: HAZELWOOD FARM OBJECTION I object to this planning application. I have concerns about: conservation; lack of parking spaces for plots 76 to 80; the proposal for the houses on Seagry Rd to have rendered walls; the number of dwellings and the need to have as much as 30% affordable housing; there is also a flood risk on Seagry Rd. I would like to make the following comments: Conservation. The application seeks to demolish an old farm building situated within a conservation area. Although the roof of the building has deteriorated, the walls are in reasonably sound condition. The corners, window and door frames are of dressed stone and some of the doors have arched stone lintels. The walls are built of local cut stone. If this building were to be demolished then a historical building which has stood on Seagry Road for well over a century will be lost. This building could be converted into a dwelling rather than be demolished. The point of a conservation area is surely to conserve what is already there. Parking. Plots 76-80 have only 1 designated parking place each; there is also direct pedestrian access from each house onto the road which will result in vehicles being parked on Seagry Road. This is a country road with no footpath, as a result pedestrians are forced into the middle of the road to pass any parked vehicles. It would also make pulling out onto the road from existing properties on the other side of the road very hazardous. The Section Plan on Seagry Rd shows a private footpath/stone wall/grass verge. If this was altered to provide a public footpath, it would greatly improve road safety for pedestrians. Political Interference. The original proposal was for 18 new homes. On page 7 of the Planning, Design and Access (PDA) Statement, it states that “the Council expressed a view that they wanted to see more units” so the number of dwellings is now 21, a 16% increase on the original. Could this be purely to meet Wiltshire Council’s targets and nothing to do with what is appropriate for the site. Affordable Housing. Sutton Benger is a fairly small village with limited public transport. There are very few opportunities for employment within the village. The residential development on the adjoining chicken factory site contains 19 affordable houses. I consider that the number of affordable houses on the Hazelwood site should be reduced to make the development more in keeping with its location and the other dwellings on Seagry Road and I question the need for the this number of affordable houses in Sutton Benger. Building Materials. It was originally a condition that the buildings on Seagry Rd would be of natural stone. Several of the houses are shown as having rendered elevations which is not acceptable. Flood Risk. Seagry Rd flooded on 3 occasions last Winter and at least once the previous Winter. The road was impassable with flood water up to 500mm deep at the point where the entrance to the development will be. Although the new houses themselves will be safe from flooding, the residents will be unable to access their homes from Seagry Rd. It should be a condition that flood alleviation measures are put in place to ease the choke point of the Seagry Brook bridge by extra culverts under the road. It would also be sensible if plots 74 to 84 had vehicular access by way of the new Redrow “Park” development which would provide an alternative route incase of flooding. Village Infrastrucure. Should this application be approved, together with the present Redrow development, the size of the village population will increase by about 25%. There is nothing in either application that shows any benefit to the village from this increase in population by way of improvements: the sewage system is already overwhelmed after heavy rain; the school is at capacity; Seagry Road is susceptible to flooding and the drains cannot cope; the traffic along Seagry Road is already busy at peak times and becomes congested when cars are parked there by patrons of La Flambe restaurant. In summary. This site is in need of redevelopment but it should be done in a sympathetic way in keeping with its location. There seems to be no justification in the number of affordable homes which the Council are demanding. The proposal does not include enough parking for some houses. The houses bordering Seagry Rd must only be built in natural stone. Flood prevention measures must be introduced. Yours faithfully Bruce & Rebecca Groves Copies to: Sutton Benger parish Council Councillor Greenman.