Was it the duck that did it? Surprise as developers pull plug on 300-home scheme outside Scartho

                                                 

Teal - the drake (right) has particularly striking head plumage

A TINY species of duck may have helped scupper plans for a housing development on the outskirts of  Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

When a bird survey was conducted last winter on the site off  Louth Road in New Waltham, no fewer than 84 Teal were counted.

If the 300-dwelling project had gone ahead, the Teal  would have  been displaced.

This was one of the factors - not the main one - that, in April this year, prompted North East Lincolnshire to refuse the planning application submitted by agents on behalf of Strathmore Estates and Cyden Homes.

As expected, an  appeal was lodged.

But at a hearing on Friday in Grimsby Town Hall, the appeal was withdrawn by Strathmore Estates.

The decision will delight the numerous residents who have long  objected to the scheme.

But its downside is that the borough will miss out on precious new homes.

In addition, the scheme, if approved, would, over a five-seven year period, have generated an estimated 2,289 construction jobs  plus ancillary employment and other economic benefits to the local economy. 

Although the welfare of the Teal -  a very beautiful duck - came into the reckoning, what mostly prompted NELC's refusal was the potential impact on open countryside.

In a pre-appeal statement, the authority said: "The project would extend into the rural landscape between Scartho, Waltham and New Waltham, resulting in a visual intrusion which would be detrimental to the character and value of this countryside location. 

"Due to this extension into the rural landscape, the housing and its extent would be more prominent and dominant when compared to what exists now. 

"This landscape has a sensitivity to change. It is a pleasant landscape with rural qualities which risks being undermined by the likelihood of  creeping urbanism

It is not known why Strathmore decided to withdraw its appeal.

The fact that the land - on the west side of Louth Road outside Scartho - is not earmarked as a development site in the Local Plan may also have weighed heavily in its deliberations.