Still time to have your say on 900 Holbeach homes

Plans to build 900 homes in Holbeach have been on show to the public – and there’s still time to have your say.

Holbeach firm Ashley King Developments wants permission for the scheme on land to the south of Hall Gate.

The project will include a proportion of affordable housing, along with landscaping to create public open spaces and footpaths and there will be two access points – Hall Gate and Fen Road.

The existing, Grade II listed farmhouse on the site will be retained and has been earmarked as a focus for community activities.

Designed to meet local energy efficiency and renewable energy standards, the scheme will be delivered over a ten to 15 year period, making a substantial contribution to the area’s housing requirements and a significant economic boost for Holbeach.

Andy Ward, senior planning consultation for rg+p Ltd, said: “The exhibition was well attended throughout the six hours that it ran.
“The architects, planning consultants and landscape architect from rg+p Ltd, together with highway and drainage engineers from BSP Consulting, were kept very busy, with about 180 people visiting, including local residents and business owners, families, and local councillors.

“Written comments were provided by many and we expect more comments to be emailed to us or sent via our website.”

All the comments will be included in a Statement of Community Involvement and submitted to the council with the planning application in early summer.

Mr Ward added: “Until we submit the application we will continue to welcome feedback.

“The feedback at the exhibition was largely very constructive. Very few people were wholly opposed to the development in principle.

“We learned important facts about existing problems in the area that residents and business owners would like to see addressed by this scheme.

“All the feedback we gained will help us respond in a positive way, which was a key aim of the exhibition.

“Our early analysis shows that the most common issues that people raised were about the potential impact on roads, drainage, and facilities such as schools and health services.”

A detailed response to the issues raised will be publicised with the application, but the initial responses are:

• The project remains committed to the provision of a roundabout at the A17/A151 junction and will focus on highway safety strategies for Hall Gate and Fen Road to help deal with existing problems.
• The drainage strategy will be highly sustainable and avoid the creation of flooding problems. The firm will also look at ways to help relieve existing problems in Hall Gate and Fen Road.
• Until the application is submitted it won’t be know precisely what the education and health authorities will want from the development, but the new houses will contribute towards the enhancement of such local facilities.

Mr Ward said: “People were naturally concerned that improvements to local facilities should take place at the right stage of the development and not long after the houses are built.

“This will be a very important part of our discussions with South Holland District Council and providing improvements at the right time will be far more achievable on a single large scheme such as this rather than lots of smaller schemes in different locations.”