This plan is not sound. It does not consider the local Mersey flood plain, where the development is planned. It does not consider the water problems in Lymm, as the area already floods from the Transpennine trail down to Warrington Road. It is removing essential greenbelt in one large area, when Government policy is to preserve green spaces and become carbon neutral. How can this be achieved with inviting so much additional traffic and building on our precious green space? These fields have been used to graze horses and house wildlife for hundreds of years and should remain as 'lungs' for the community. The water drainage will be adversely affected by building a vast number of houses on grassland (which is muddy, wet land) The main field has a wooded area and a pond, housing wildlife, including bats. Statham's air quality is already adversely affected by close proximity of the M6 motorway, so it will reduce further by removing the greenbelt. Has an assessment of air quality and impact been made, particularly since school children will be affected as the school is right in the middle of this proposal?
Building 400 houses creates approximately 800 cars further polluting the air and driving down a narrow road, which already has problems with speeding, narrow pavements, horses being walked along the road with associated incidents/accidents. The pavements are not maintained and extremely narrow, non existent in places, a country lane like this is not suitable for additional traffic. The police are currently monitoring the traffic and considering calming measures, as there are problems with speeding and the width of the road. It is really dangerous for pedestrians.
Lymm does not have enough schools for an additional estimate of 800 children. There are insufficient GP surgery spaces already without this expansion, insufficient community services and amenities to serve approximately 1600 extra Residents. Lymm does not have the amenities or infrastructure to support a development of this magnitude. There are regular forums of complaint regarding the number of children with nothing to do/nowhere to go, they are very poorly served.
There is an extremely sharp and unnavigable bend at Lymm golf club which can barely cope with traffic now. Once the other development on the site of the old Lymm Hotel is finished, there will be another huge increase in traffic along Warrington Road, this also needs to e factored in. The plan essentially is to place a concrete block on top of green belt land in an area which already floods. It is unsafe and will have a hugely negative impact on the environment.
The village will lose it's identity. It is already overwhelmed with people, the percentage increase planned is ill considered. The village is being singled out. It will have HS2 on one boundary, the huge development at the M6 junction and increased lorries/pollution around the Stobart development, and now another huge environmental detriment on another boundary.
The consultation also is only available to those who are 'internet savvy'. Each and every person and household in Lymm should be contacted by the local council by post, so that every Resident has the opportunity to be consulted in an appropriate format. The potential respondents' database has therefore effectively been 'culled' and managed in a calculated way by this approach. How have, for example, elderly Residents or those without access to the internet been approached?
Also, the dates and times have not been widely broadcast and are too rushed for an in depth consultation.