Barton upon Humber

On 27 February Lidl sent in a crew with a JCB to test the subsoil on Top Field. They chose a week when the field was saturated and left a terrible mess. There has been no North Lincs Council planning meeting to discuss their own development plan and no plan has been submitted by Lidl. It is hoped that the field will be restored to its former condition as soon as weather conditions allow and at no cost to Council Tax payers.

Top Field is the 7 acre grass field between the Forkedale/Feyzin Drive roundabout on the south side – left hand as you drive up the hill. It has been a green space since about 1982 when it was designated a buffer zone to shield houses from the noise predicted to get worse after the opening of the Humber Bridge. It was bought initially by Glanford Borough Council and is now owned by North Lincolnshire Council

NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL OUTLINE PLAN PRESENTED AT THE PUBLIC MEETING - PA/2016/1490

This is the outline plan that North Lincolnshire Council has come up with. It beggars belief that anyone can imagine an entrance to a busy site between the two roundabouts. Any of us who ever drive up Ferriby Road can see a death trap here.

Oh, and it seems they forgot to provide us a walk through the estate to the woods…

The houses along the slip road will be as close as they can be to the busy A15 – so much for the buffer zone that the Council of 1982 thought they should provide.

Presumably to raise capital funds and to save grass cutting costs, North Lincs Council would like to see a supermarket, a family pub and 70 houses built on Top Field. The outline plan shows access off Ferriby Road between the roundabouts and most of the houses aligned with the south-bound slip road.

1. This is a well-used and much appreciated green space which greatly enhances the approach to the town. The Tourism Partnership is working hard to establish Barton as a tourist destination and the attractive, semi-rural nature of the entrance to the town, distinguishes it from other places where out of town development leads to a bland uniformity. More importantly, this is also the only open and accessible green space at this side of the town and it should be retained to in order to encourage exercise and an enjoyment of nature, both of which are recognised as vital to health and well-being.

2. This area was originally designated as a buffer zone to shield houses from noise from the A15. Increased traffic in the last thirty years has surely made this even more necessary, particularly as the indicative plan shows houses located very close to the boundary with the A15. The loss of the linear shelter belt of trees will also destroy the north/south wildlife corridor which currently exists and provides an important and diverse natural habitat.

3. In common with many other communities Barton Town Centre is struggling, retail premises are standing empty, two public houses have recently closed and at least two others are up for sale. The town is already more than adequately served by major name supermarkets and any out of town development would drain even more of the life from the town centre.

4. The infrastructure of the town is already struggling to provide services for the existing level of population, the nearest primary school to this site is Bowmandale which is already full and any further development would increase pressure on all the local schools. Similarly the current doctors and dental surgeries are at full capacity. Before any further development takes place in the town these issues should be addressed.

5. Access and egress to this site is problematic as the planned entrance to the site is from a short stretch of road between two roundabouts. Ferriby Road is the only approach road into Barton from the A15 and is used by the majority of commercial traffic from all directions. This very busy thoroughfare is already congested at peak times and any commercial or private vehicle would have extreme difficulty turning into this site without causing major traffic delays. It would also appear that residents, shoppers, delivery vehicles and visitors to the public house will all access the site via the same single entrance. This would create a very dangerous situation for both drivers and pedestrians. Added to this, residents on the east side of the town and those from the main catchment villages, also predominantly to the east of the town, will need to drive through the Market Place and up Ferriby Road creating yet more traffic hazards and air pollution. We do not feel sufficient, if any, consideration has been given these aspects of the proposal.

If all those of us who think it is a bad idea object to the outline plan, then perhaps North Lincs Council will look elsewhere to raise the money they need, so PLEASE, go on the website and OBJECT.

www.northlincs.gov.uk/planning will get you on the North Lincs planning pages, then go to planning application number PA/2016/1490 and list your objections.

Talk to friends and neighbours to make sure they know about the proposals and can have their say. Write to our MP, Martin Vickers, and let him know what you think. Use social media to spread the word – we can stop this development, it is up to us!

Copyright 2016 Barton upon Humber Civic Society and www.inbarton.co.uk.
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