Plan for 18 homes in Beckingham refused

The submission was considered by Bassetlaw Council’s planning committee on Monday 24th July.

The proposal was to build 20 residential properties on land adjacent to South Fields, Station Road at Beckingham.

But after a site visit, councillors turned it down.

They said that because the plot was not one of the allocated sites in the council’s Local Development Framework (LDF) which sets out where future growth will happen, and was outside the LDF development boundary, it could not go ahead.

They also decided there was ‘inadequate justification’ to grant planning permission for residential development on this site before the process of LDF site allocations had been completed.

In coming to its decision, the committee took into consideration observations from the council’s pollution control officer on contaminated land, Notts County Council’s highways department, Ancholme Internal Drainage Board and Beckingham cum Saundby Parish Council.

A single letter of support and 27 letters or emails of objection had been received from local residents, plus an objection from the local ward councillor.

An email had also been received from the applicant’s agent addressing some of the contentious points raised.

Access would have been off Low Street, with a further pedestrian link onto Station Road.

The parish council objected saying that it was outside the LDF development boundary, there were concerns over sewage and surface water on site, that it would affect road safety on an already bust arterial road, that the density of houses on such a small site was too much, that school places were scare as it is, and that a natural spring was present.

Letters of opposition from members of the public echoed these points and said the development would be detrimental to the village character of Beckingham.