Object

Representation ID: 29813

Received: 23/03/2021

Respondent: Addingham Parish Council

Furthermore, in directing a higher target for new housing than is justified to Addingham, a local service centre, the new draft Plan does not adequately take into account the lack of facilities, services and infrastructure in the settlement:

-Unlike nearby towns, such as Burley and Ilkley (whose housing targets have been reduced from the targets initially set, based on the 2014 housing needs assessment), there is no railway link into the village.
-The safe walking and cycling routes mentioned in the Plan, such as the Wharfedale Greenway, are at best a very long-term future aspiration for Addingham, given the logistical and engineering issues involved, and the scale of public funding which would be required.
-The settlement is ill-served by the local road network passing through the village, where the main through routes are severely and dangerously congested, often taking heavy vehicles along narrow residential streets.
-The settlement has few viable commercial or organised leisure facilities for the general public, and there is very little parking provision for residents and visitors alike.
-The village’s local primary school is well-regarded and serves the current population well, but the local secondary school, based in Ilkley, does not have capacity to offer places in sufficient number to meet the demands of an increased influx of new Addingham families on the outskirts of the catchment area.
-After heavy rains, the centre of the village is prone to severe groundwater flooding and Town Beck, which runs through the village, frequently overtops its banks. Developing the outer greenfield areas of the village, which help in water absorption upstream, increases these flooding risks, further exposing existing properties, especially in the Conservation Area of the village, to flooding. These risks will only increase over the period covered by the Plan, as climate change takes more effect.
-There is limited scope for commercial development in the village with only one small food store. Population growth, arising as a result of the implementation of these housing allocations, would therefore contravene policies for sustainable transport development as it would lead to a greater use of cars to access shops in Ilkley, Skipton, Silsden and Keighley.