Council raises concerns over plans for 19 new homes in Kendal

Chairman of the council's planning committee, Doug Rathbone, is concerned that the application under review is now a bigger project than first intended and could impact the safety of local children saying.

He and other councillors were also concerned about issues that could be caused from the building, including parking, drainage works, speeding, and schools.

He said: “The safety of children going to Sunny Brow Nursery is cause for concern. This whole road needs to be looked at regarding increased modern traffic needs resulting from this development which I feel to be far in excess of those stated in the original application.”

Councillor Graham Vincent added: “I’m a supporter but we all know that this is a difficult area to keep everybody happy in and there will be political issues and pressures in the months ahead on this debate.”

The new housing project is also raising concerns over lack of cycle and buses lanes, which are contrary to the ‘Local Plan’ and planning guidelines.

The committee says it will also be pressing for more social housing to be built into any revised plan.

The new application for houses in Kendal comes a month after Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched a new white paper on planning rules and regulations for developments across the UK.

He said he wanted any new regulations to make a system workable for all parties and to aid the building of more homes across the country.

He said: "Getting homes built is always a controversial business. Any planning application, however modest, almost inevitably attracts objections and I am sure there will be those who say this new white paper represents too much change too fast, too much of a break from what has gone before. But what we have now for planning simply does not work.

"So let’s do better. Let’s make the system work for all of us. Let’s take big, bold steps so that we in this country can finally build the homes we all need and the future we all want to see.”