A social housing development which was built taller than permitted has made neighbouring residents’ lives a ‘nightmare’ and should be ‘started all over again’.
New Linx Housing Trust has submitted a revised planning application relating to its 15 dwelling development at Manor Drive, Halton Holegate, to remedy planning breaches in its construction.
However neighbouring residents feel the revisions fail to rectify the looming intrusion posed by the development and have called for it to be taken down and rebuilt at the proper height.
One resident, who did not with to be named, said: “I’ve got a terrible view from my window – all I can see is bricks, which wouldn’t be the case if they had built it properly.
“It’s absolutely awful – the building just looms right over us and its taken away all of our open space.”
Although understanding of the needs to build social housing, the residents claim that by failing to properly address the previous breaches, New Linx has made a mockery of the planning system.
“Instead of putting it right they are trying to get around the issues and all they end up doing is making it worse,” they added.
Many of the properties in the development were built taller than permission had been granted for but rather than address the height issues, New Linx has sought to mitigate against is visual impact.
An earlier application to remedy the breaches in a similar fashion had been refused by East Lindsey District Council’s planning committee several months ago.
Halton Holegate Parish Council chairman David Sisson, said he expected the council, having opposed the previous revisal, to also recommend the refusal of this latest application when it meets on Thursday.
Expressing his personal view, he said: “We have always supported the principle of developing the site, which has been in he local plan for many years but part of the development is obtrusive, overbearing and we are unhappy with the way that it’s been built.
“I was also quite surprised that an application has been put forward for something that has already turned down on appeal by the committee.”
Group director of development and operations at New Linx, Anthony Riley, said: “New Linx Housing Trust have submitted a revised planning application in order to remedy the breaches identified by ELDC in the construction of some of the recently completed properties.”
A decision on the application will be made by ELDC within the next eight weeks.