New homes approved for scenic Barnsley village – despite more than 200 objections

Barnsley Council’s planning regulatory board approved the new homes in Hemingfield at their last meeting of the year on December 21.

A detached bungalow on Cemetery Road will be demolished to make way for the homes, along with disused garages and a pig sty which are on the land.

Outline permission was granted for 20 homes at the 0.62 Ha site in November 2018, which has been reduced to 14 to retain a pond on the land.

The proposal will see the homes laid out around a new access road which enters the site from Cemetery Road, which will all be four bed properties.

Councillor Tim Shepherd, whose ward the application falls under, objected to the plans on the grounds of highway safety, the number of houses, drainage and surface water run-off and impact on wildlife.

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Councillor Mick Stowe, who is also a councillor for the Hoyland Milton Ward, raised concerns about number of houses proposed, traffic volume and safety, and flooding of gardens in the area.

A petition against the plans with 221 signatures, along with 38 objections, have also been submitted to the planning board.

Objectors say the plans are ‘inaccurate’, and do not properly demonstrate the impact on residents, such as loss of privacy, on Lady Croft Lane, which borders the site.

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Residents also objected on the grounds of highway safety concerns, noise and dust, loss of wildlife, loss of green space, flooding, loss of view, and lack of school places.

Outline permission for the site was granted three years ago, according to Matthew Woodward, BMBC planning officer, and parking will be provided for a number of properties on Cemetery Road to maintain visibility at the site entrance.

Mr Woodward told the meeting that even though there are ‘tight’ separation distances between the new homes and existing properties, they are ‘not sufficient enough’ to recommend that the scheme be refused.

A report by officers stated that ‘a number of issues’ have been raised with Yorkshire Water about ‘localised backup’ in the sewer system, but concludes that ‘these related to user error with foreign objects in the sewers’.

The plan has been amended following input from the council’s highways officers, and ‘is now acceptable in highway safety terms’.

No S106 contributions will be required, as the reduced number of homes fall under the threshold for affordable housing, and the original plan pre-dates the council’s sustainable travel plan.

According to the report, education services have been consulted but have advised that ‘there is sufficient capacity within local schools to accommodate the development’, so no contribution is required.