We think that real and immediate harm which will be caused by the development, which is not outweighed by the grandiose claims which L&G make about the benefits it will bring. For example:
Cooters End Farm is a Grade II listed building. The fields around it are laid out in a historic pattern and form an important part of its setting, in rural isolation. L&G’s documents admit that there will be permanent and significant adverse effects on Cooters End Farm and the Grade II listed Old Bell pub, by way of the destruction of their setting. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
L&G make a great deal about the “biodiversity net gain” which they claim for the development, achieved in part by planting new woodland, but they don’t shout about the fact that their own consultants say that there will be adverse impacts on the listed Ambrose Wood. Why should existing and precious ancient woodland be sacrificed, for the prospect of new planting? After all, if L&G as owners of the site wanted to do the right thing by the environment, they could plant the woodland anyway: but they are only offering to do that if the Council allows them to build 550 new homes.