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Friday, 24 July 2015

Housing issues @ Streetlife

There have been several ongoing conversations at the social networking site Streetlife:


Brownfield Development.

Local Conversations in Sidmouth
Peter S 

 
I see that the 106 agreement has finally been signed, regarding Bewes Yard Temple Street / Lawn Vista and the Erection of terrace of three two storey town houses. This site is Brownfield and needs to be developed soon instead just being left, no need to describe what happens to unused land.
There were objections when the planning application was put in place, mainly parking but as most people I talk to would prefer new build on Brown instead of Green Space this is the type of development that needs to be encouraged, I remember when it had builders lorries coming and going all day long, must be better to now only have cars. 


Paul L
Can not ever remember builders lorries coming and going all day long at Bewes Yard, they owned a few Vans and a small truck, delivery vehicles would park in temple street and goods taken in through the double doors, most materials where delivered to site as is common practice for building companies.
Peter S
I also remember them causing traffic problems on Temple Street, exactly my point Builders Yard v 3 small houses


Streetlife | Brownfield Development.

This is a longer thread - with the comments specifically on park&change/ride taken out for a follow-up blog entry:



Proposed new dwellings Woolbrook and Opposite Waitrose

Local Conversations in Sidmouth
Sid C.Gull 

 
The park and change.....
Mmmmmm heard this before when they said they would do this when building the new homes in Stowford...i.e. the two sites......  Did it get built?  Can't see it.  Can see the homes!
This is a lot of homes for the Woolbrook area, where it has flooded....I can see this being developed.


Maggie
Where are the houses being proposed for. I can't get a Herald until tomorrow and very curious. Thanks
Sid C.Gull
Opposite the entrance to Waitrose...Core Hill and by Higher Woolbrook/Greenway Lane...Bloor Homes Core Hill Road A3052 and Persimmon land off Woolbrook Road  Greenway/Higher Woolbrook (lots of bungalows there).
Maggie
Thanks Sid C. Gull, can't see anything on EDDC planning portal yet.
Sid C.Gull
Maggie
It was where Persimmon were talking about some time ago......Core Hill/A3025 is new.  I think they will get the planning but pity the people in Woolbrook if they don't improve the drainage.
Peter S
You are correct with the site, that is the site that involved the park & change, but as it wasn't developed then the p&c didn't happen, as for the flooding SWW are at this present time working on the Woolbrook, lets hope it solves the problem, this piece of land has been in Persimmons ownership for over 25 years, so has been known they would develop sometime. 

Pining Lass
'this piece of land has been in Persimmons ownership for over 25 years, so has been known they would develop sometime.'
Incorrect, it has been known they would TRY to develop. This land was bought as a speculation as are so many bits of land which have no immediate prospect of development. This habit is why developers have huge land banks.
Sid C.Gull
This land they are talking about in Woolbrook wasn't that former local builders...who were bought out.  A lot of land is land banks and I think it may be a reason that farm land has become more valuable?
I suppose next it will be ribbon developments off Salcombe Hill or Peak Hill...because when you allow developments in A.O.N.B. they know they are going to sell.  I would imagine the farmland around Bickwell Valley could be at risk too...
Sid C.Gull
Developers paradise at the moment for Sidmouth...like Ottery has become....and West Hill!
Peter S
Lets stop the scaremongering, 150 new residences in the new plan is not a developers paradise, and as for Salcombe and Peak hill not in our lifetime.
Sid C.Gull
Peter
Page 5 Sidmouth Herald
Bloor Homes hope to build 100 dwellings on 16 acres in the AONB
Persimmon's land off Woolbrook Road is 'ready' to for more than 100 homes...which means 200 homes....but that leaves bits of land in AONB at risk.  I did not agree with the vets being built at the garden centre because it was in AONB...and will set a precedent.
If permission is granted I hope they state they need a new sewage system put in...because this is going to make matters worse.
Peter S
No such thing as a precedent in planning, and at the moment only applications, which anyone can put for and each one will be looked at on its own merits, I do not believe that the Bloor Homes one has a hope in hells chance of getting approved, and don't forget the local plan if approved only says 150 are needed. Sidmouth sewage system problems stem from older sewage pipes in some areas are of different sizes than the recent newer installations, the sewage works is actually working under capacity. So lets wait until the applications are in place, then we can comment to EDDC our own opinions.
Sid C.Gull
Peter S
We will never have enough homes for everyone...combined with divorce rate and people living alone.  Hence the Government policy seems to be build and build!
Sid C.Gull
Pining Lass
We were promised this when they built the last two lots of Persimmon Homes in Stowford......so I think it is called

'Park and Hide'
09 August 2009
Sidmouth Herald

PROPOSALS to develop up to 100 new Sidmouth homes have been revealed, dashing hopes of a park and ride scheme for the town.
Developer Persimmon Homes Ltd wants to build a "mixture of house-types with a strong emphasis on locally affordable homes" on land off the A3052 at the junction of Woolbrook Road and Sidford High Street.
Up to 60 per cent of the homes will be for rent, shared-equity or purchase though the Government's Homebuyer scheme, and residents can get a glimpse of the plans when they are unveiled at a public exhibition next Saturday (August 15).
Land to be use for the homes had been identified by Devon County Council (DCC) as a possible site to house a much-debated park and ride scheme for Sidmouth.
Sidmouth councillor Stuart Hughes has mixed emotions about the news.
He said: "In one way I welcome it in principle but in others it makes solving problems we already have in Sidmouth regarding traffic difficult.
"Our number one priority is to provide local homes for local people. I welcome the additional houses that are proposed, and that many are affordable for our young people and first-time buyers."
Last week the Herald reported how first time buyers in Sidmouth are struggling to get onto the property ladder due to a lack of affordable housing in the town.
Cllr Hughes added: "The problem is if we keep building more houses there will be more cars, and the car parks we've got are being exacerbated as there isn't enough capacity.
"There certainly is a need (for housing) but at the same time we've got to address other issues in Sidmouth, and now have to look for another possible park and ride site.
here we go again...like a repeat performance.....
Sid C.Gull
The above was nearly six years ago and the arguments are still the same regarding the traffic...I hope they did not build on the former park and hide scheme....still looking why it wasn't built?
Maggie
If only 150 New homes in the local plan (if approved) does that really mean once that number has been achieved no more will be approved for 20 years?
Sid C.Gull
Maggie
Would not think so...because other developers will put in to build...according to the paper it is 200 homes, 100 on each site.
Maggie
Mmm and there was me thinking the local plan had a purpose and meant something!
Peter / Stuart maybe one of you can clarify this for us.
Peter S
The local plan is a fluid document, with a review every 5 years, it has to be like that because circumstances change, the same in business you can have a 5/10/20 year plan but along the way you may have to alter it, you may be growing to slow or even to fast, so you are constantly tweaking it to get you on course. That doesn't stop others trying to alter your plan, what it does mean is you have to be aware of circumstances around you and act accordingly.  
Maggie
Thanks Peter. So as far as new builds if the LP is saying 150 what does that mean?
Peter S
On your 150 question, a developer would have to have exceptional reasons to get this through planning, and if they appealed, at this time I couldn't answer, don't know of any legal challenge yet in England through the appeal system, but that is because relatively few areas have a fully adopted plan. 
Real Sidmouthian
That's what this and every other town and city in the Country says. Unless we lock our borders and stop people having more than one child the increasing number of people have to live somewhere. It's not an easy one to solve. I's sooner see houses at the Persimmon site that starting to breach the A3052 'barrier'.
Barnacle Bill
Agreed RS - and put a limit on 'oldies' descending on Sidmouth as well.
It will only be a matter of time before the, so called, A3052 barrier is breached - it may not happen here but - well - let's just say it is a long road. As long as housing estates are hidden by 'green' visual barriers - trees and hedgerows, I personally don't have a problem with more houses being built.
The country needs somewhere to live - we've all got to 'do our bit'!
Richard and claire C
Building  in Woolbrook and opposite Waitrose takes up more agricultural land and growing food is essential to feed us all. Also the stress on existing essential services will be even more under  pressure eg GP,schools and roads.
Richard and Claire Crouch
Real Sidmouthian
The 'Agricultural Land' at Woolbrook is very poor quality and not farmed at all and within the development area so makes much more sense to develop than that which is actually farmed north of the A3052. It's got to go somewhere.
Lynn E
Couldn't agree more Richard E. We had a hopper bus running for a while & it stopped a lot of  the parking Manor Rd, Bickwell Valley,Peaslands etc
I'm with: Rotary
Richard T
Peter S Afternoon to you.  Do you mean the works to the Woolbrook opposite the Persimmon homes?  If so, then those works are bank reinforcement works being undertaken by Persimmon as part of their adoption obligations.  Some four years since the first houses were completed and still a lot to do.  Hopefully they will get cracking soon as this is all a bit of a weary and overdue eyesore.  Are SWW working elsewhere?
Peter S
Richard E
Seen them working further down in the Wool Brook, and also at Long Park near Exeter Cross regarding the sewage problems.
PennyPincher
I can't understand WHY so many extra homes needed in this area. Devon County Council own prediction is that population for Sidmouth area is predicted to rise at a very low rate. The 'natural wastage' keeps population pretty static. Most 'new' builds often bought up off plan by 2nd homers . . Or by the Sidmouth business men as rental properties . .
Jane G
Real Sidmouthian -
The  'Agricultural Land' at Woolbrook may be poor quality but they are growing 'Sweet Corn' and have done so for the last 2 years (since I moved in) as it backs onto my property.  They may have even grown crops for longer than that may be someone else can confirm this. Certainly they will have to do something about the possibility of flooding happening, because if we got worse wet weather than the winter in 2013 there is a real possibility of it flooding the properties who have the gully running through their properties to take the overflow from the drains etc. that then runs into the Woolbrook.
Real Sidmouthian
The 'sweetcorn' being grown is certainly not for food. It's for animal feed and is what is done with poor quality farmland as it returns practically no income for the farmer. Perhaps I can shed some light as you suggest, as I was not only born here but have lived here all my life. I can confirm that it used to be farmed for wheat until the soil became so poor that it needed to be left fallow which it was for many years. I appreciate that you have only just moved here and back onto the field but it's right in the built up area and makes far more sense to develop than that the other side of the A3052. Ideally we wouldn't need to build at all or indeed need more cars or roads or power stations or any infrastructure which might impact the land. But we do need more houses in this country and indeed in this town. We must get real and not put our heads in the sand. You are totally right about infrastructure. Drainage, roads, electricity and services must be kept up to scratch but you can't use that a reason to simply pull up the drawbridge. This and all other towns in the Country need to do their bit. What we should try and ensure that building happens in the right place.
By the Byes
'Fraid to say that RS is absolutely right. We moved from a rural Warwickshire village with minimal infrastructure, and utterly no employment, but were still under enormous pressure from developers.
Very little gets turned down once the applications are in, as there is an extensive appeal system to which the builders can turn. From this aspect I fear that BOTH applications will soon become a reality.
Unfortunately, what ends up being built are expensive 4/5 bedroomed homes, with a fixed percentage of "affordable". What's actually needed both here and across the UK is both high quality social housing and truly affordable starter homes for those who don't have access to a massive deposit.
Jane G
Real Sidmouthian - I can appreciate your comments and so long as the infrastructure is in place so that we don't have flooding then I can accept that homes have to built and it is most likely to be here rather than on the other side.  Even though I only moved here 2 years ago I have been visiting this area for 30 years as I had & still have family living in the surrounding area & have always loved coming here. Like many others I only want what would be best for Sidmouth, but at the same time don't want to lose the areas natural beauty, which brings the tourist in to visit the town & the surrounding area.
Stephen H
With the population of the country rising at more than 1,300 every day, shouldn't we abandon building houses, and just be building blocks of flats?.
Pining Lass
Stephen, if we were sensible we would be producing the sorts of terraces we had years ago. Back to back, one up one downs for singles and people with less than two children!
Peter S
Didn't they become the slums that were replaced by multi storey blocks of flats, not everything from the past was good, I can remember my Grand Mothers house, Living room ,Kitchen, Bedroom, Outside WC. I still cannot imagine how she had Eight Children in that property but she did, most of the time on her own because Grand Dad  was gassed in the 1st WW and never survived long.
Pining Lass
Not suggesting we go back to outside toilets down the end of the lane :-) Am suggesting a single person 'needing' a 3 bed is not realistic.
If you remember 'slums' being replaced by flats you'll probably also remember people hating them; and the fact that these wonderful tower blocks became slums in their turn which are now being demolished because they are breeding grounds for antisocial behaviour.
Truly Scrumptious
I think blocks of flats with only upto eight dwellings over 2 or 4 levels with plenty of grass areas and trees are needed for the UKnowadays. Not the high rise of yesteryears but built to encourage a community spirit and sense of pride. Also, there are not many European countries that have such a large portion of house to flats ratio as we have in the UK. Seems a sensible solution to the UK housing problem rather than use agriculture land or ANOB land which in turn feed us and help us breathe.
Ann L
Terraced housing is a good solution. Different sizes and layouts can be achieved to accommodate different needs from singletons to small families.
My son lives in such a terraced development built round a square with some two and some three bedroom properties. There is parking for cars in the square and areas of planting and each house has a garden at the back.
There is a real sense of community there too. Last time we visited there was a street barbecue.
If, as in some areas properties could only be sold to people who lived and worked in the area, it could help solve the problem of both affordable housing for lower income people and as the density of housing would be greater, take up less of our increasingly precious green and pleasant land
Paul F
Truly, your dream flats sound exactly like the ones that the architects envisaged and were then built in Runcorn new town, in the 70s, which were indeed wonderful when first built but rapidly deteriorated as no-one wanted responsibility for the open spaces. They have now all been demolished and replaced witha mix of houses from terraced to semi detatched with a sprinkling of flats and some wardened areas for the elderly, mostly they now have their own garden areas, they look good now.
But there again the flats did 40 years ago...
Paul
England has a  land mass area of 55000 square miles  France has a land mass of 212000 square miles with a not to dissimilar population.
As a country we cannot sustain  a continual net immigration of 300000 every year, thats  200000 people leaving and 500000 newcomers. Englands population (not scotland or wales) has increased by  10 million  in 25 years .
The countryside is under pressure from people who want to leave large towns and cities  and will get considerably worse in the future unless something is done .
Peter S
What proportion of Britain do you reckon is built on? By that I mean covered by buildings, roads, car parks, railways, paths and so on - what people might call "concreted over". Go on - have a guess. Only 6.8%
This is only 3 years old so not to much out of date, interesting report. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18623096
Paul
Peter :   BBC & Government  stats dont believe them they have an agenda to keep too.
Anyway its England not Britain which is vastly over populated,  take out the lake district, pennies , exmoor dartmoor and north york moors and you wont go far until you a city, town or village.
Paul F
Yes but what is the corresponding proportion for other european countries?
Paul
PaulF, its widely recognized that in the last 15 years England has become the most densly populated country at 1100 people on average per square mile. Even more populated per sq mile than Holland.
I predict the Quality of life in the future  will go down for everybody in England unless we control population movement and growth.
Peter S
I agree with the SE of England, but the rest I do not believe is as overpopulated as some people believe. As for not believing the BBC and the Current Government at the same time, that is an interesting situation, as most of the time they are polls apart. So the question is which stats do you believe.

Streetlife | Proposed new dwellings Woolbrook and Opposite Waitrose

Lastly:


Fortfield Section 106 money

Local Conversations in Sidmouth


Barnacle Bill
Can we have some Section 106 money set aside for GATSO cameras along the prom to catch speeding mobility scooters?
Bob B
Well done independents you can now complete the power to be plans to move from knowle ! Pound to a penny you will be recommended to buy the man stone lane site off the council ! This gives the money Sidmouth is owed from Eddc for selling our business assets right back to themselves to finance the building of the new offices by buying manstone that no developers wanted !!
Dare I say it but does Sidmouth want any more low cost "affordable" housing it certainly won't go to proper local people . If houses are needed does the council not have a responsibility to build as many homes for its money as possible not just line its own pockets to pay for its desire for new offices . In which case build on private land in say axminster where land is so much cheaper and dare I say better employment and communication options !!
But of course well done councillors I hope the town will be thrilled at more affordable housing with the new medical centre now built and looking for customers it's just what the doctor ordered ;)
Peter S
Bob B
I wondered as well what a proper local is, and also is it not a case of need rather than want.
Maggie
Darlington originated from South Somerset DC housing stock and has now moved into more general affordable housing to buy or part buy no longer pure social housing.
Maggie
Most housing organisations support people with training etc including EDDC through Community Development.
William E
Proper people are local residents paying exorbitant council tax,improper people are councillors who waste it.

Streetlife | Fortfield Section 106 money
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