Villagers rally against plans for 260 homes

Residents of Seamer and Irton are up in arms at plans to build up to 260 new homes in the area.
Residents against the developmentResidents against the development
Residents against the development

Linden Homes wants to build on two parcels of land at Napier Crescent and Beacon Road off Stoney Haggs Road and is to submit a planning application for the schemes imminently.

The developer held a meeting in the village last week when more than 200 people turned out to object to the proposals.

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A PR firm for the company ended up calling the police when the meeting concluded as they did not want to walk past the crowd holding placards and chanting outside Seamer

Memorial Hall.

A Facebook group has been set up with more than 600 members to co-ordinate the objections to the plans.

One of the residents, who asked not to be named, said: “There was nothing threatening outside the meeting. The PR firm completely over-reacted in calling the police. It was a group of people, many over 60, just holding placards and chanting ‘No’.

“At the meeting we got no answers to our questions about what size the houses are going to be, why they want to build on land that has been classified a flood risk, and where all the children are going to go to school.

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“Seamer and Irton School is full, when the Crossgates development was built two portable buildings were built to house extra children but there is no more room.

“One of the most laughable claims made at the meeting was that they expect only an additional 26 children under 11 from 260 homes. As the homes proposed are family homes and

social housing I don’t see how they can possibly come up with that number.”

The residents are also concerned about the impact additional traffic will have, especially as access to one 175-home site will be through the crowded and residential Beacon Road.

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Linden Homes told The Scarborough News that it would soon be submitting its planning application.

A spokesman for Linden Homes said: “As a responsible developer, Linden Homes held an open-door public consultation, to provide more information and discuss with the local community our proposals for new homes in Seamer.

“Throughout the course of the day, the exhibition, which was organised by an external specialist agency, was well attended and we had some useful feedback and helpful discussions with residents about the proposals.

“Part of the site has been identified by Scarborough Council as suitable for housing in the Local Plan and indeed a number of attendees acknowledged the need for new housing in the area.

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“Towards the end of the evening, the room became overcrowded, which made it difficult for members of the public to view the information available.

“Consultation on the proposals continues and we will submit a planning application to Scarborough Borough Council in due course. Local people will be able to view the final proposals and comment on the plans to the local authority in the usual way.

At the end of the evening, a number of people congregated outside the event, which made it impossible for people working at the event to leave the building.

"We have a duty of care to our employees and consultants and we would like to thank the local police for their assistance.”

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