New homes passed in village

Planning permission has been granted to build 37 homes off Stockwell Gate in Whaplode Drove.

The application had previously been deferred after concerns over the layout.
But applicant Stinders Home had reworked the plans and they were passed by South Holland District Council’s Planning Committee last week.
“We listened to the concerns at the last meeting and have to confess, we agreed with a lot of what was raised,” said Simon Percival of HA Architectural Services to the deciding meeting. “We live in a financial world so we can’t lower the number of homes further.”
The site has outline permission for 42 homes, though some councillors felt the new plans didn’t go far enough particularly with the number of driveways exiting on to Stockwell Gate coming down from eight to four.
“I don’t see why one main access point should be a problem,” said Coun Andrew Tennant.
“Why increase the danger and have three drives pulling out on to that road?”
Committee chair Coun James Avery responded: “We asked the developer to reduce the number of access points which they have obliged.
“We’d be pushing our luck to do so again given Highways have again raised no objections.”
The application includes commitments of payments to the community of £24,420 towards healthcare and £204,000 for secondary and sixth form education in the Holbeach area.
Coun Paul Redgate said: “I’m pleased we have a developer who listened to what we said and came back with something far more amenable and suitable for that location.”