Councillors say '˜hundreds' more homes on way to Woodhall Spa

In a letter sent to the News, ward councillors Craig Leyland and Susannah Gorst say they ‘are aware’ a scheme is being proposed for land to both the west and east of Tattershall Road and public consultations have been organised by the developer.

They add: “There is wide speculation as to how many houses will be built. Estimates range between 300 and 500 houses. Whatever the number, the key concerns remain the same.

“While the scheme may have merit in terms of design and layout, the principle of growing the village to such an extent is not supportable at this time.

“The scheme is premature given all the land with planning permissions and in the planning process in Woodhall itself.

“The ELDC Local Plan sets the housing targets for the next 15 years. The applications and allocations that already exist deliver beyond the housing target set by ELDC.

“While the ELDC housing target is a minimum, we should not allow a premature application that is not needed.

“On this basis we will not be supportive of such an application if the developers formalise their intentions with a planning application to ELDC.”

Their announcement comes as members of Woodhall Parish Council met ELDC’s planning supremo Coun Richard Fry yesterday (Tuesday).

Parish councillors have raised concerns about the over-development of the village.

They have previously objected to a number of housing developments – only to see ELDC give the go-ahead.

Speaking at a meeting last week, parish council chairman Coun David Clarke described ELDC’s housing target for Woodhall as ‘meaningless’.

He claimed ELDC’s Local Plan did not include a ‘minimum figure’ for the number of homes that could be built on Woodhall .

The parish council is already fighting plans for 300 homes off Witham Road and Coun Clarke warned hundreds more homes could be built. He added that he hoped the meeting with Coun Fry would lead to a joint statement on a number of issues regarding future developments.

*The full letter from Coun Leyland and Coun Gorst is on page 14.