Planners say '˜yes' to 107 homes in Louth

The plans were initially granted outline planning permission by East Lindsey District Council’s planning committee back in January, At the time, the committee requested that the reserved matters should be brought before them for determination.

The plans, submitted by Larkfleet Homes, state that there would be 51 detached houses, 19 pairs of semi-detached houses, four blocks of four houses, and two blocks of garages with one flat
 above.

At least 21 of these homes (around 20 per cent of the total 107) will be allocated as affordable housing.

The district council’s planning committee met on Thursday, and heard that Louth Town Council continued to object to the proposal, stating that there were ‘no material changes’ since their previous consultation 
in June.

At that time, town councillors objected to the detailed particulars of the proposal due to the lack of an up-to-date Flood Risk Assessment, which would indicate whether the proposals are robust enough to prevent impact on residents in areas historically affected by Stewton Beck.

The town council maintains its repeated concern that the volume of traffic generated from this site would have an adverse impact on local residents and through traffic.

Despite a handful of neighbour objections being submitted to ELDC ahead of the meeting, no members of the public turned up to speak against the plans on the day.

The planning committee heard from case officer Michelle Walker, who said that a long-standing public footpath on the land would no longer have to be diverted - as had previously been feared - due to the installation of a drainage pond on the site.

Ms Walker said: “The applicant has managed to get an agreement with their drainage engineer so that the drainage pond can be a different shape, which means the public footpath will not have to be diverted.”

Following a query from Coun David Buckley regarding Section 106 agreements, Ms Walker added that there is a legal agreement in the outline application requiring a contribution towards health and education in Louth - with NHS England requesting a financial contribution of 
£43, 549.

Coun Terry Aldridge voiced concerns over the safety of the ponds which are planned for the development but planning team leader Chris Panton assured him that both the depth and the gradient of the pond would be shallow, in accordance with Anglian Water guidance.

Coun Tom Ashton proposed approval for the scheme and said it looks ‘very attractive’. Coun Buckley seconded, and councillors promptly approved the plans.