As a resident of Eccles, I strongly object to the demolition of The Walnut Tree.
Local provision.
Could the applicant provide evidence that Eccles is in need of further housing and that they are willing to invest a substantial amount into local amenities, services and community facilities. The development does not seek to provide local affordable housing and does not look to address homelessness in the borough through the building of 3 or 4 bedroom houses. Currently there are a number of houses for sale in the village, those who wish to move to the area have regularly changing selection of properties to choose from.
Local Issues.
The recent knocking down of the Fleur de lys in Burham has proven to be a unpopular decision as it was seen as central to the village of Burham,
Location.
The Walnut Tree is geographically central to Eccles and while presently is not providing a service to the community it has the potential to, and it was hoped that the pub would be reopened to fulfil this role.
Hillreed Homes.
Hillreed Homes claim that community is at the heart of their developments, it would therefore be interesting to understand how they plan to accomplish this vision within Eccles.
It is my opinion that comments and responses from local estate agents should be identified as such and not necessarily viewed as 'neighbour responses' this is to ensure that the well-being of the local community is at the heart of the planning application.
I'm not a resident of Eccles but I am quite familiar with the village. As far as I'm aware Eccles currently has 1 pub, 1 church, 1 shop, and 1 school. Barring the school, this is the number of public facilities one might expect to find in a hamlet, not a village the size of Eccles. The Walnut Tree could make an excellent, and greatly needed, community facility.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the Parish Council have given the plans their blessing already, but I wonder how much real community consultation they actually carried out before they decided to represent the views of the people of Eccles.