CONTROVERSIAL plans to build between homes on a field next to a village nursery have been refused.
Permission in Principle planning consent to build the homes on land next to Busy Bees Nursery off Eckington Road in Birlingham was turned down.
The application concluded that the proposal is ‘entirely acceptable and compliant with the development plan’.
However, residents heavily criticised the plans because of the location.
David Myerson commented: “This is an unsuitable development for a rural landscape and will have a damaging effect on the surroundings.
“Birlingham is a tiny hamlet with no amenities or services and minimally served by a bus service, so any new inhabitants here will be reliant on cars, adding to the local traffic issues in the village and surrounds.
Stephen Cant added: “The proposed development is on a very busy section of road and near a blind bend.
“This road has been the site of accidents in the past.
“The application accessibility options stated for both Defford and Eckington are unrealistic.
“Walking to either village is dangerous.
“The route along both these roads is without footpaths or street lights, and both roads are very busy and have very fast-moving traffic.
“The proposed site is actively farmed agricultural land and a productive agricultural asset.
“Protecting agricultural assets is increasingly important, and greenfield land, once lost, cannot be recovered.
“As well as losing an agricultural asset, the development of this site would cause irreversible damage to the local wildlife, existing mature trees and hedgerows and have a detrimental impact on the character of the local landscape.”
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Birlingham Parish Council also objected to the plans, saying that new access points could lead to additional safety issues.
It said: “Cars travel at great speed along the Eckington Road from its intersection with Bakers Hill, around a sharp blind bend, moving down towards Eckington Bridge.
“The upper part of the Eckington Road already contends with the weekday drop off and pick up of children by parents from Busy Bees, which is adjacent to the application site.
“A further number of access points from new driveways would add to this already congested road, which could lead to additional safety issues.
“The application is misleading in several respects, firstly, by inferring that there are regular buses. From our local knowledge, buses run along this road infrequently and irregularly.
“These stop in an area with no lighting and no footpath.”