We owe it to our future generations to preserve the green spaces and natural habitats we have in North East Lincolnshire. They are important not only for being natural landscape for us to enjoy the tranquillity but provide important habitats for a range of wildlife.

A Levelling Up Funding bid to construct the Grimsby Western Relief Road has been submitted by North East Lincolnshire Council. If successful, this will open the land for the following development first proposed in 2013 by MF Strawson LTD Land and Property and Sir Richard Sutton’s Settled Estates:

Church Fields – 159 dwellings with plan to convert Church Farm buildings in Great Coates village (not on local plan).

St Nicholas View (land at Healing roundabout) – 915 dwellings including village shop, primary school (on local plan).

Freshney Springs (backs onto Wybers Wood) – 1,933 dwellings including primary school and local centre (on local plan).

**Laceby Holt (backs on to Laceby Acres and encircles Morrison’s) – 704 modern contemporary dwellings with a pub, shops, community facilities including the existing Morrison’s supermarket (on local plan).

**Western Relief Road - It is envisaged to be a 7.3-metre-wide single carriageway with a 2.5 metre combined footway/cycleway on the eastern side. It would be designed to accommodate a speed limit of 50mph. Its purpose to link the A46 to the A1136 taking commuters to the Humber Bank employment zone and relieving congestion from Bradley crossroads to Great Coates roundabout (on local plan).

**these both encroach on the Freshney Valley

The area, known as Freshney Valley is a natural valley located between Wybers Wood, Laceby Acres, The Willows, Great Coates, Healing and Laceby villages.

It is enjoyed by those in the community and beyond who come through here on their walk, run, or bike ride as they access other areas of our county.

Its home to a chalk stream (Laceby Beck) which continues into Grimsby and becomes the River Freshney; home to blow wells, woodland, copses, and meadowland. Various wildlife inhabit this environment and a road, and the Laceby Holt development will impact upon this.

Residents do not feel North East Lincolnshire Council sufficiently engaged with the community over these developments at the time of the Local Plan; nor do residents feel that NELC has considered the environmental importance of this valley to the existing communities; the use of the green space and how it helps with mental and physical well being, and the natural landscape including a chalk stream and the wildlife that inhabits this area.

What does the mean for our area?

• Decrease in green space, nature, and biodiversity
• Increase in pollution, light, noise, and traffic
• Detrimental impact on a chalk stream and blow wells
• Reduction in air quality
• Impact to physical and mental health of the existing community

If funding of the road is received, it opens the land for the building of 3,800 new homes including schools, and other amenities.

Phase 2 (Not in the Local Plan)

The need for the road comes from the desire to connect Waltham Toll Bar with the A180 and the next phase will see it go behind Bradley Woods, to Waltham and then onward to Toll bar and the tender for this road is already out! If the council get the funding its likely to happen.

We want the local authority to:

1. Stop the construction of the Grimsby Western Relief Road through the centre of the Freshney Valley. There is flawed justification for its build, and we want clarification on their rationale for why this route was chosen and what exactly will it gain.
2. We want the local authority to be open about phase 2 of the road and the usefulness of the relief road should that not progress.
3. Preserve the Freshney Valley area including the copses, meadow-land, waterways with no road or buildings within the valley or along the ridges. It should be kept as a green corridor with its multiuser pathways to continue to link with other routes in the region.
4. Reduce the number of dwellings. The population in North East Lincolnshire has remained stagnant and the number is based on over inflated national figures. We ask the council and the developers to revisit the population stats from the ONS. ONS 2018 stats show there will be three million fewer people by 2039 than the 2014 projections forecast. We want NELC to acknowledge that the 2014 ONS data on which the local plan was devised is over estimated, compounded by BREXIT and Covid 19. Even before that the ONS said, “The population grew at the slowest rate for 15 years between mid-2018 and mid-2019”. ONS 2018 statistics showed that there will be three million fewer people by 2039 than the 2014 projections forecast. We want the local authority to respond to the review of ONS data by the Office for Statistics Regulation, which found room for improvement and made recommendations.
5. We want the local authority to provide evidence of projected growth and investment in the Humber Bank
6. Remove the Laceby Holt development from the plan as it encroaches on the valley ridge and will destroy the beauty of this green space. We have a duty to preserve this for future generations to enjoy.
7. Consider the type of dwellings on this site and the need for more affordable homes on brownfield sites in the region. Affordable housing is not being delivered. Under 10% of homes built last year were ‘affordable’.
8. Consult with ALL wildlife groups on this proposed development.
9. Recognise the important natural habitats, and rare species that are on this site and protect them from the urbanisation of the landscape by stopping the road and the build.

For more information visit: Facebook – Grimsby West Objections 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/851376152402452

Join us and stand together to protect our space for future generations. Please sign our petition.