Mims Davies MP said:
I met with villagers this weekend at the third event highlighting the new significant housing site likely to go to planning committee at LDC shortly.
This is a well organised, positive, and inclusive campaign of clearly concerned community members who are not anti-housing but concerned about significant overdevelopment and impact in Newick by this site, like many communities since the top-down approach and pressures from the new government.
They are contending, like many, with a very significant new site of development on current active and vital agricultural land which is growing crops used by nearby farmers to feed local livestock.
We all recognise the widespread issues and impacts our farmers are under with inheritance tax and other cost pressures, but food security is a deep concern for Newick villagers as well as the lack of infrastructure, pavements , pathways, and suitable road crossing schemes required to connect the new homes to the centre of the village which are unclear beyond the housing. The impact on the river and water supply is also a great concern and villagers feel this site is too dense on crop growing feels to be acceptable and suitable.
I will be sending in my formal response for them voicing my objection on their behalf to the council to appraise. The council needs to find sites in the right place with suitable infrastructure required to support communities and back villagers’ views and this needs to be heard and recognised when this reaches the LDC planning committee.
With brownfield and windfall sites coming forward in the village with a new very large site that feels to many locals like a step too far for the village to be able to accommodate and they want the council to listen and take this into account and act accordingly.
