Traffic concerns over new homes proposals (From Swindon Advertiser)

Traffic concerns over new homes proposals

11:00pm Thursday 10th January 2013 in News By David Wiles

EXTRA traffic and noise were among the concerns residents raised during a public consultation on proposals to build 58 homes on former farmland near the A419 in Blunsdon.

Fairhurst Ltd has revealed outline proposals to develop a 2.45-hectare strip of land between the new alignment of the trunk road and Ermin Street, with a mixture of one to four-bedroom homes, 30 per cent of which would be affordable housing.

The proposals also include a children’s play area and 20 allotment spaces to meet an identified shortfall in the Blunsdon area. The sole access would be on to Ermin Street, almost opposite the junction with High Street, by demolishing an extension to 83 Ermin Street and building a landscaped road on part of the garden.

Yesterday residents gave feedback to help shape the plans during a drop-in pre-application consultation held at Blunsdon Village Hall, in the High Street.

Ross Savory, of Ermin Street, who would have new allotments behind his home, said: “I bought the house last year and the reason I bought the house was I didn’t think there would be any development here because as far as I was concerned it was too much of a small area to do any development, and the road was fairly quiet.”

He feared the extra homes would increase traffic along Ermin Street and said he wanted assurances that the developer’s contributions towards infrastructure would be used in Blunsdon to mitigate the impact.

Norman Haynes, 72, who has lived in one of several pensioners’ bungalows in Ermin Street for three years, said the development would also cause noise for the elderly residents.

“The are going to build a new road which is directly behind the back of these bungalows, so the noise impact is going to be quite considerable for the old age pensioners in these bungalows,” he said. Tony Hatter, 74, who has lived in Ermin Street for 70 years and would have new homes behind his garden, said: “My main concern is the traffic. “Last year we got kicked in the teeth with the Tadpole Farm development which is bringing an access into Ermin Street, and now they’re looking at another 58 houses, which is going to be at least 100 more cars.”

Howard Waters, of the project architect Mathewson Waters, said people wanted to be convinced that the existing junctions, and improvements to the junction with Ermin Street, and the street itself could cope with the development.

He said the developer’s highways consultant would try to alleviate people’s concerns.

And he said public feedback would be useful in developing the proposal before an application is submitted in spring.

Fairhurst is proposing for all its infrastructure contributions be ring-fenced for Blunsdon projects.