A Suffolk councillor has repeated calls for plans for 55 homes to be rejected because of concerns that the street will not be able to cope with the amount of traffic generated.
Melton parish councillor Carol Gradwell said approximately 49 existing homes in St Andrews Place did not have parking and therefore had to park on-street, while some properties had two or three cars, which would create a conflict with construction vehicles visiting the development
A planning appeal is currently taking place after developer Warburg Dawson Partnership challenged a decision to overturn the original approval over concerns for highway safety.
Concerned parties have until October 26 to comment on the plans and Melton Parish Council is in the process of drafting a response calling for the refusal to be upheld.
A transport consultant visiting the site suggested a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) might be needed closing the road to all, except construction traffic for the site.
However, Ms Gradwell said a number of homeowners in St Andrews Place had disabilities which meant they would need to be able to park at their homes and the TRO would force them to park elsewhere.
She also raised concerns about flooding issues at some of the properties and questioned the developer’s plan to provide an "aggravation pond" for runoff in an area that was considered wetland.
The village’s neighbourhood plan had highlighted many of the requirements needed to ensure biodiversity is maintained and the flooding situation addressed, but the developer had not appeared to have "taken cognisance" of it.
“Quite simply the road is not wide enough to accommodate the construction vehicles and it is a long-term issue because we have got to get traffic to the houses. They are actually building on a greenfield site.
“Melton Neighbourhood Plan put together the specific requirements that needed to be completed in order to ensure that the biodiversity was maintained and to ensure that the flooding risk was dealt with.
“The developer does not appear to have taken cognisance of any of that so the plan and the need to develop a decent neighbourhood scheme will be lost,” Ms Gradwell said.
In March 2021, outline planning permission was granted for the scheme by East Suffolk Council’s planning south committee, but the decision was overturned following a visit by councillors to the 8.4-acre site, while residents indicated that they would seek a judicial review in the High Court.
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