The Lincolnshire Bird Club

CONGRATULATIONS to Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust on its comprehensive ecological survey of a
Grimsby-area site field that has been earmarked for a huge housing development.

http://planninganddevelopment.nelincs.gov.uk/online-applications/files/EB05D3D2F44

or, if unavailable, trawl :
[url]
http://planninganddevelopment.nelincs.g ... EHXLJL3F00[/url]

It is a substantially superior piece of work to the inadequate survey conducted by
Scarborough Nixon, the consultant in the pay of the applicant .

http://planninganddevelopment.nelincs.gov.uk/online-applications/files/14C8749D1F27087196934118646FD46B/pdf/DM_0313_16_FUL-ECOLOGY_STATEMENT-1247505.pdf

Alas, the Trust's report has a serious double failing which could prove costly for birds.

1) It does not specify the number of nestboxes it is recommending - nor the ideal number of bat boxes and swift bricks.

2) It does not invite the planning authority - North East Lincolnshire Council - to make the
recommendations firm planning conditions in the event of the application being approved.

The upshot is that, in his report advising that the development should be approved, NELC's planning
case officer, Simon Johnson, has NOT proposed that any of the LWT's suggested measures should
be adopted.

The application is due to be determined at a planning meeting in Grimsby Town Hall on the morning of
September 14.

Without delay, the LWT needs to email the case officer urging that, in the event of the application
being approved, the nestboxes need to be installed as a condition of the development.

Otherwise a great opportunity will have been missed, and the LWT's work will have been in vain

Jim, have you considered taking these point up directly with LWT and the planning officer direct which might actually do more good than mentioning them here?

Yes, Phil, I have regularly raised concerns with both planning officers of local authorities and councillors who sit on planning committees.

Sad to say, they unfailingly turn a blind eye to the impact of their decisions on birds and other wildlife.

I have also raised the issue with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust - both in a letter to the trust's planning expert, Clare Sterling, and by asking a question at last year's annual meeting.

The trust is strapped for resources and obviously cannot follow up every planning application, but, when it does choose an issue, it needs to be far more robust and rigorous in seeking firm planning conditions that will safeguard/enhance habitat.

I make no apology for posting my concerns about abuses in the planning system on the forum page, especially as not many other members contribute on any subjects.