Residents hit the roof over height of homes next door
ROOFLINES of 24 low-cost homes being built in Lamsey Lane, Heacham, are towering above neighbouring properties because of their raised footings, nearby residents claim.
The 2.75 million scheme is being carried out by Peddars Way Housing Association, part of the Flagship Housing Group, in partnership with West Norfolk Council, on a site which already stands above ground level the other side of the road.
Controversy surrounded the site in July 2006, when the council's development control board backed the scheme, despite being advised by planners to turn it down because of a potentially dangerous increase in traffic at the Lamsey Lane junction.
More than 150 letters of objection were received from residents and organisations.
Then, two years ago, the scheme seemed to be in jeopardy when experts found the site was contaminated with arsenic to levels exceeding the Government criteria for building houses.
But further tests and investigation showed the ground levels had not built up and the source of contamination was geological or naturally occurring – and measures could be taken to overcome the problem and prevent any risks to human health.
One of these was to lay an impermeable barrier mat over all garden and landscaped areas and cap it with a layer of imported soil. Another was to raise the homes on three-foot high footings.
TOWERING
But a nearby resident, who asked not to be named, told the Lynn News: "They are huge and are so high they look like blocks of flats rather than houses.
"The site was higher than those around it anyway, and with the added height the houses tower over everything else."
It was also claimed the final floor levels were not put onto the council's website until January of this year, long after planning consent was granted.
And letters from 2006 relating to the environmental problems on the site had only just gone onto the website.
"We just about accepted that these homes were going to be built, and then when the first of them went up we couldn't believe the height," a resident said.
"The roofline is above everything else and they look awful.
"I don't know why the pitch of the roof wasn't altered because of the raised footings."
A council spokesman said: "The issue of visual impact on the character of the area and on local residents was addressed when the development was considered at development control board in 2006.
"The 60cm (almost 2ft) difference is not considered to be substantive in respect of this development, particularly given the fact that there are no adjoining properties and the closest housing is on the other side of the road."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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