SAY GOODBYE TO THE BUTTERFLIES AND BIRDS - UNOFFICIAL NATURE RESERVE TO BECOME SMALL-SCALE HOUSING ESTATE

Soon to be developed - the songbird site in Humberston 

AN 'accidental'  nature reserve in Humberston is set to become a small-scale housing estate.

The site, off Forest Way, has no official designation as being significant for wildlife.

However, it is a long-established feeding and breeding habitat for robins, wrens, whitethroats, goldfinches  and at least eight other songbird species.

At this time of year, it is also home to bees and butterflies such as peacock, red admiral and small tortoiseshell.

But soon the plants will be beaten back or sprayed - or both - and most of the wildlife will be gone.                                          

Goldfinch feeding on thistle seedhead

At a meeting of North East Lincolnshire Council's planning committee, councillors voted to approve a development  application by  Craig Davidson, of Cleethorpe-based Adda Design & Build.

His plan is to construct nine bungalows - some of scale - of various sizes within an attractively-landscaped layout.

The council's stated policy is to refuse planning applications unless they enhance, or at least safeguard, biodiversity, but it is questionable how rigorously this is pursued.                                           

Peacock - one of the site's star butterflies

On the say-so of NELC's ecology  officer, Rachel Graham,  an ecology report was commissioned by the applicant.

However, its contents were deemed  deemed sensitive and it was withheld not just from residents but also from planning committee members.

During the committee discussion,  the main focus was not on ecology but on the extent, if any,  to which the dormers would overlook gardens on Forest Way and neighbouring streets such as Carrington Drive.

Resident Mark Rudd spoke against the application.

His concerns were heeded both by committee chairman Cllr Steve Harness and by Cllr Bill Parkinson - both of whom voted against the application.

However, colleagues felt these considerations were not sufficient to warrant refusal.

Cllr Parkinson was disappointed with the outcome.

He maintained that, even when they object to applications,  residents are often too "disillusioned" to register them with the planning authority.

He commented: "There is a widespread view that since no one seems to listen, why bother?"

The Grimsby News says: Credit to Craig Davidson for coming up with what looks like a pleasing development. However,  it is a matter of regret that the planning authority seems to have given only limited regard for  the welfare of  precious wildlife habitat. The applicant's proposed use of chemical spray will have a devastating impact on biodiversity. With modest tweaking, the planners could also have modified the styles of a couple of the proposed  dormers to accommodate the concerns of neighbours. No wonder residents are, in the words of Cllr Parkinson, so often "disillusioned".