'Lunacy' homes plan in Conisbrough thrown out by councillors against planning officer advice

A plan to build nine homes described as ‘lunacy’ on greenfield land in a Doncaster town has been thrown out by councillors despite officers recommending approval.

The scheme, off Clifton Hill in Conisbrough, was initially a much larger development of 74 properties but this was reduced to nine detached homes to ‘overcome concerns from consultees and residents’.

The access was also amended to Kendall Crescent with construction traffic from Clifton Hill. But this sparked anger from local ward councillors and dozens of residents who say access problems along the road are already bad enough.

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Conisbrough councillor Nigel Ball called the construction access ‘absolutely disgusting’ while fellow ward member Ian Pearson said it was ‘lunacy’.

Coun George Derx, a retired paramedic who voted against the plan, told the meeting he previously had to knock on doors to ask people to move their cars to access patients on a blue light call.

From the two proposed schemes, 74 letters of objections were received along with 30 signatures on two petitions.

Resident Pauline Rumble spoke in opposition to the application and said because she felt so strongly about it, she said she would ‘go down to the House of Parliament’ if approved.

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“I hope councillors listen to the residents - it sometimes feels like it’s one rule for one and rule for another,” she said.

Coun Ball told the meeting: “This is a landlocked development - Kendall Crescent is impassable at times and the access for construction is no more than a dropped kerb.

“It’s absolutely disgusting to have that as an access point and I have no idea how you will get lorries down there. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Coun Pearson added: “It’s lunacy trying to get vehicles down what is a 12 foot entrance.”

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Other objections lodged included concerns around local wildlife, privacy, an increase in traffic and difficulty of construction vehicles getting onto the site.

Doncaster Council planning officer Gareth Stent recommended the plan to be approved.

He said: “The application sees the development of a sustainable greenfield site in the heart of an existing residential area.

“The site due to its gradient and restricted access will add to the existing vehicle flows using Kendall Crescent, however the applicants have successfully shown that the build can be accessed from Clifton Hill.

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“The build will cause some localised nuisance during the build however this is not a reason to withhold permission. The applicant through the submission of the necessary reports requested from consultees has proven no harm exists to trees, ecology and potential concerns around air quality have been mitigated through proposed conditions.

“The proposal is deemed acceptable on account of its layout, parking, design and impact on surrounding residents.”

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