- It was a positive meeting at Miller & Carter; thanks again for hosting. Residents from Poplar Farm, Gonerby Hill Foot, Barrowby Road, and Barrowby Gate attended. Buckminster Estates was also present as an observer to listen to views.
- We briefly explained what the various councils do, followed by an update on the latest road maintenance figures.
- Some community speed watch volunteers were present. Many thanks! We are waiting on training dates from LRSP before we can get cracking; the locations have been agreed upon, and SIDs (smiley faces) have been installed in two places.
- We could meet without an update on the bypass, which fed into the following conversations about roads and bridges.
- Cllr Paul Martin gave an update on the Vaculug retail development appeal (S24/0539). It was explained that SKDC has come to an arrangement with Vaculug for them to take ownership of the green area on Orchard Close to provide access to the site (the details remain unclear at this stage). While there were various views against the development, it’s clear that the developers are pushing hard to make it happen. We’ve drafted a template letter (attached), which you may find helpful.
- We gave an update on the adoption status of various roads, with significant concerns raised about Lauriston Rd and the footway, etc., around that area. We touched on speeding again here and are hoping to do something significant to address speeding along Balmoral.
- The meat of the meeting was the planning conditions, including the link road on the Poplar Farm estate. The afternoon before, Buckminster had sent me an email saying some of the numbers involving the parks and green spaces had been altered in a previous variation (I’m still unable to verify this claim.) In broad terms, residents were furious over the lack of facilities and failure to adequately maintain spaces and the play park.
- We heard various views on the actual link road planning appeal (S24/2218), mainly favouring the road. We discussed the ins and outs of options and opportunities, with most people expressing dissatisfaction about how the council handled the process. We tried to explain that despite efforts by the local council, it is pretty likely that if the developers/landowners take the case to the Planning Inspectorate, it will be approved, and the condition to build the bridge will be removed, despite the will of the locals and SKDC/LCC. We’ve started a survey at https://www.granthamsays.co.uk/, which will also be delivered locally to houses by Paul and me.
- Cllr Martin moved on to a broader discussion about the revisions to the local plan and how that will inevitably lead to more house building, potentially with even less community benefit.
- We had a quick update on A1 matters as time was running short, outlining the central opportunities that are coming over the next few months.
Actions
- Draft objection letter for Vaulug development, attached
- Cllr Martin & Myself are hoping to meet the Poplar Farm developers/landowners shortly to try and arrange for them to come along to a residents meeting to showcase their plans and field questions etc from residents.
Thank you very much to everyone who has got in touch so far, please do share the survey (https://www.granthamsays.co.uk/) with friends and neighbours locally.
As usual, please get in touch if you have any questions or queries.