Love's Farm Eastern Expansion

Gallagher Estates have submitted planning applications to Hunts District Council for Love's Farm Eastern Expansion and for the reserve site (the empty parcel of land in the south west of Love's Farm, to the west of Dramsell Rise).

Both applications are available for viewing on Hunts District Council's online planning portal.

Love’s Farm East

Outline application for the development of up to 1,200 dwellings, up to 7.31ha of mixed uses including a primary school (Use Class D1), nursery/crèche (Use Class D1), public house (Use Class A4), hotel (Use Class C1) and employment uses (Use Class B1), formation of four new access junctions onto Cambridge Road, connections with Love’s Farm, on-site roads and pedestrian/cycle routes, open space, and other related infrastructure. (EIA development).

Search on the planning portal for case reference 1300388OUT. The main details can be found by going to "Documents and Plans" then "View associated documents". The best place to start is the document entitled "Planning Design and Access Statement Rev B" which is split into 3 parts.

Reserve Site

The 'reserve site' is one of the last remaining parcels of undeveloped land on Love's Farm and is bordered by Cambridge Road, Dramsell Rise and the sewage pumping station.

The parcel was originally intended for office or commercial use, but no such use having been found, it has been turned over to residential development.

Outline application for the erection of 41 dwellings accessed from existing access from Dramsell Rise.

Search the online portal for case reference 1300389OUT. The main details can be found by going to "Documents and Plans" then "View associated documents" then look for the "Planning Design and Access Statement" which is a colour PDF brochure describing the development. There are plenty more pages of plans and designs if it takes your interest!

Please have your say!

Much of what I wrote about the Wintringham Park development applies here too. Love's Farm East will be developed by Gallagher Estates, who have developed Love's Farm, so we have plenty of experience of how things might pan out over there! Do have a think about how this might affect you and our community and make your comments known via the planning portal. This is the best opportunity we have to make a difference.

Marcus Pickering, 17/04/2013

Feedback:

	Chezza	02/04/2013 21:03
Personally I dont understand why plans need to include a public house! There are more desparate needs such as more supermarkets, vets, doctors, dentists etc. This shows how little developers take into consideration the day to day needs of people who buy their houses. Its a case of throw up a few hundred more homes and let them get on with it! Also why do we need a hotel in the middle of a housing development? Surely there are enough pubs, restaurants and hotels, bed and breakfasts in and around St Neots already? Yes if it was something really useful like a vets to serve the ever growing pet population or a row of smal shops such as a takeaway or hairdresser to save a trip to town for the elderly, infirm or young mums then great but a pub and hotel, what a completely stupid idea , probably thought up by the same genius who designed the road layout on loves farm, so that tells you a lot!
	Sally Tilley	03/04/2013 09:52
On the contrary, I would really like a pub! The downside to new developments is that they rarely have a local pub in walking distance, as opposed to older and more established parts of towns. It was one of the things we had to consider when moving here as we came from somewhere that had lots of restaurants and pubs within walking distance. However, we weighed it up and also really wanted to be near the railway station so we plumped for that instead. It would be nice to have at least one pub within walking distance as you're not often going to drive home from the pub. Hairdressers etc. are places I would only go to every couple of months so I would be happy to take a trip into town for that. I do agree we need general grocery shops etc. within walking distance but we are getting five of these soon near the station.
	Guanliang	03/04/2013 12:51
Good points Chezza, couldn't agree more!
	Sally Tilley	03/04/2013 13:48
We are already getting a small row of shops. As well as a grocery shop, we may well already be getting these facilities such as a takeaway etc in the 5 units that are already planned for this side of the development - near the railway station. This piece is talking about the Eastern expansion of LF where additional things such as a creche and a pub would also be useful in addition to this. A GP surgery would be handy too but I believe the NHS are not interested in creating another GP surgery in St Neots, so I think that's out of the developers hands.
	Sharon Nicholson	09/04/2013 00:43
Hi all As for a creche, its a hood idea but is also one that could be put in the community centre. It would gain an income as what else would really be held in it in the daytime? Or it could end up like all the other community centres, hardly used, empty shells that gain no regular income. As for a takeaway, how many people would want that next door to them? All that smell, the rubbish etc. Would you want that next door to you? I don't think so. A doctors, is or rather will be an essential asset when the eastern expansion is built, but especially so when wintringham park is built. No way can the doctors surgeries cope with an extra however many thousands more people added to their lists. As for hairdressers, the town gas too many. In fact the town literally consists if little more than estate agencies,charity shops,opticians,hairdressers, and coffee shops and takeaways. What this town needs is shops, real shops to shop in. As for a pub, how would that stay open in the long run? Do you think that everyone has money to throw away? Pubs in st.neots have shut, and quite recently so, and redeveloped into, more houses. As Tesco have got their claws into the large shop being developed, I wonder if they will keep their prices down in line with the main Tesco, or, like the one in Eaton so on, put their prices up? Its ok to open shops but unless it is something that generates money for the shop to pay their rent, rates,heating,electric,insurance and wages, how long before they also start to close?one thing needed is a post office up here, probably inside a small independent newsagent, but that would mean that Tesco shouldn't be allowed to trade in papers,tobacco,sweets, to ensure that the small independent newsagent keeps all of the trade itself. Post office is essential to all people, but especially young mums who have to struggle to town with children to collect their money. We do not need a hotel up here at all. Its pointless and a waste of land that could be used for amenities for this area. Also, due to the fact that there will be not a lot of parking available, and there is already too little of that for the people who live here, we don't really want to encourage people from st. Neots to come to the development and create even more parking issues do we? Or do we?? Definitely a cash point is needed within a shop of some sort.
	Alan Robinson	13/04/2013 11:59
I've posted details on how to find the planning documents (now they're available online) at this forum thread: http://www.ourlovesfarm.co.uk/Forums/Messages.aspx?ThreadID=237871 Deadline for comments is 25th April.
	Chezza	23/04/2013 19:32
Some really good points. Obviously my points re shops etc was just examples. We have shops coming, finally. I have been here for over 3 years and got fed up of hearing that they are coming. Having moved here from a big town it would have been nice for the shop not to have been tesco who I personally loathe. What would have been great would have been something like the little spar down the road. The point is that what the developers are proposing in terms of amenities are two things that are pretty useless to probably 99% of the residents on both sites. A little post office is a great idea but you cant see them giving us one when we only seem to have one postbox on loves farm from what ive seen! All I know is that the pub and hotel gets a no vote from me _ if I had one!