Construction of ‘fully affordable’ housing development proposed in Hunmanby

The Broadacres Housing Association has submitted an application to North Yorkshire Council proposing the construction of 15 affordable properties on land at Sands Lane, Hunmanby.

The housing association is proposing to construct a mix of two and three-bedroom houses with gardens “to be rented to local people for affordable rents”

with all properties “kept and maintained” by the applicant.

However, members of the public have already lodged objections to the proposed development, citing concerns about its impact on local services, the environment, and traffic in the area.

Documents submitted by the applicant state: “There are limited sites available in the area so this is one of very few that has been brought forward for a fully affordable development.”

The proposal is still pending consideration with the planning authority and the council has not yet published a report or recommendations regarding the application.

Broadacres Housing says it held a community consultation event in January where people were “generally supportive as they realised that the site was going to be developed for housing of some kind”.

However, objectors have criticised the developer for not taking into account people’s suggestions.

Objectors Christine Jaques, stated: “For the last 25 years we have seen an increase in housing developments but no improvements for the local area such as bigger school, more health care facilities, village amenities not big enough to cater for demand and reduced green space in a village.”

Another public objector, Alan Wilcock, said: “There are plans in for 44 houses and nine houses on Sands Lane already, I really object to these houses being built and the new plans for a further 15 houses right opposite the junction of Grimston Road”.

Members of the public also raised concerns about the development’s impact on the environment.

However, an ecological report submitted alongside the application states that the site is “considered to have low to moderate ecological value overall” and from an environmental perspective, “the most important feature on the site” is a potential habitat for Great Crested Newt.

A subsequent survey found that the potential habitat provides a “suboptimal breeding habitat for Great Crested Newt and considered it “unlikely” that newts would be “significantly impacted by the development”.