Birds versus homes - planning inspector will decide whether to approve development on curlew field

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The curlews come to Britain in winter to escape the bitter cold of Scandinavia

AN independent planning inspector will decide whether a house building company should be granted consent to develop a grassland  habitat favoured by birds.

Steven Ibbotson, of Laceby-based Cyden Homes Ltd, has lodged an appeal after North East Lincolnshire Council refused his company’s application to build 225 homes on a site in Humberston.

The application did not go before the authority's planning committee but was determined under delegated powers by senior case officer Richard Limmer.

Largely on the basis of advice from Natural England, he took the view that the proposed development would result in the “irreversible loss" of land that is "functionally linked" to the Humber Estuary, an area which enjoys special protection because it is home to many important wetland birds.

Among these are the curlew, a long-legged wading beastie with an unmistakable long down-curved  bill.

The species’ rapidly-dwindling British population is augmented in peak and late winter by the arrival of others that have mostly bred in Nordic countries, particularly Finland.

However, they are shy birds and their their presence at inland sites such as the field off Midfield Road is always determined by the extent of inadvertent disturbance by dog walkers as well as by other factors such as the weather and the wetness of the ground.

An objection to the proposed development was also submitted by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. 

If the appeal succeeds, access for contractors' vehicles and future householders would be via Midfield Road and Andrew Road, many of whose current residents are opposed to development which, they believe, will lead to traffic intensification and other pressures.

In his refusal notice, the case officer further noted that the applicant has not made any provision for  affordable housing, nor for a financial contribution towards education, such as the monies for a new school, for children.

No date has been set for the planning inquiry, nor whether it will be heard in public, but it is unlikely that the inspector's verdict will be known until well into next year.

The Humberston field - other birds to be seen include  barn owls which hunt for voles and other small mammals