The following residents of Newton Leys and Milton Keynes, object the plans to build houses and the 8-pitch traveller site on employment land particularly the 8 traveller pitches on the amended planning application under reference Milton Keynes City Council planning reference 23/02652/FUL.

The reasons for this petition are as follows:

Visual amenity (but not loss of private view)

1) Taking the Calverton and Willen traveller sites as an example, without adequate screening or landscaping there is a risk of impact to visual amenity from the proposed Traveller site. As can be seen from Google Maps both existing sites have large quantities of material and equipment which may have a negative impact on Visual amenity especially from the Redway and the Pavilion playing fields.

Adequacy of parking/loading/turning

1) The road to access the development to the west of the community centre from the plans look inadequate to handle multiple large emergency vehicles such as fire engines which may have a poor turning circle. Although one turning space is provided prior to the entrance of the traveller site consideration should be made to prevent this becoming used for parking vehicles.

2) In absence of visitor parking within the proposed traveller site visitors of the site would be required to use the 6 visitor spaces adjacent to the public open space. It is possible visitors may be towing caravans or works equipment placing further pressure on the visitor spaces. It is also likely based on parking being to the rear of plots 56-64 that the visitor bays directly outside of plots 56-64 may present a more convenient location for residents of these plots making their availability to visitors limited; this has been demonstrated across multiple areas of Newton Leys already. The Milton Keynes Council supplementary planning document January 2023 acknowledges this:

4.21 Rear parking courts have proved unpopular as parking choices for residents and are therefore generally not supported as a parking option in Milton Keynes.

3) Parking on Galapagos Grove adjacent to the community centre has already become problematic at times, when the facilities of the community centre are in use for large events such as football matches, weddings and other celebrations cars are often parked on Galapagos grove adjacent to the community centre, the access road to the proposed development is often used for community centre overflow parking during such events. This demonstrates there is already pressure on parking facilities in the area, something the parish council will already be aware of due to the damage to grass verges.

Highway safety

In absence of any play equipment or play area on the proposed traveller site children of the site would be required to travel to alternative provision such as the Oakbrook Park. Consideration should be given to the fact Galapagos grove is a busy main road at most times of day, children would be required to cross this road at some point to access Oakbrook Park. The absence of a play park on the site is also in contrast to Planning policy for traveller sites design - Policy H 26 c.

Traffic generation

Leaving Newton Leys during peak times is already challenging due to the volume of traffic passing the estate from the A4146 and the volume of traffic attempting to leave the estate during peak hours, particularly traffic exiting the estate directly to the A4146 roundabout. Additional development of the estate will exacerbate the problem.

Smells

It’s widely known that Newton Leys is next door to an active landfill site, the proposed development to the west of the community centre is particularly close.

Smells from the site have become a regular issue with many residents reporting such to the environment agency and council. Building so close to the active landfill site is likely to draw increased numbers of complaints placing additional burden on central and local environment agency resources.

Road access

The road access to the proposed Traveller site is in contrast to that of existing sites in Milton Keynes (Calverton and Willen) both of these sites have direct access to a main road. The road access proposed for the traveller site would bring the travelling and settled communities into direct contention with each other.

The winding nature of the access road may likely present a challenge for vehicles towing trailers such as caravans or works equipment.

Proposals in the Development Plan

The proposed development is a departure from the original development plan, the land in this planning application was allocated as employment land. By not developing this as employment land would deprive local residents from opportunity of local employment. Taking the local centre as an example many members of the community work there or have set up successful businesses there. Newton Leys has many residents with entrepreneurial spirit who many consider setting up businesses in the area they love and are proud to call home. In addition, there are many local residents who do not have access to their own forms of transport making local employment preferable, as demonstrated by the members of the community working at our existing local centre there is an appetite for local employment in the area.

Development for employment use is also likely to be less disruptive to wildlife than housing, typically businesses operate during the hours of 9-5 it may be possible to place conditions on businesses to mitigate light pollution to the woodland. Buildings could also be orientated in a way in which they would not face the woodland further protecting habitat for wildlife.

Taylor Wimpey have turned down opportunities presented by Stoke Hammond Parish Council who wanted to purchase the land to place leisure and recreational facilities, which would have benefited the whole community.

Nature conservation

The council has already set a precedent with regards to nature conservation by installing red bat friendly street lighting along the new redway. This installation indicates the council acknowledges an impact to wildlife. Due to the proximity of the development to the woodland any benefit from this bat friendly lighting would be negated. The development is likely to generate light pollution to the detriment of local wildlife, consideration should be given to buffer zones separating the development from the woodland.

The residents of Newton Leys are not only humans but we are fortunate to be the home to a vast array of wildlife including muntjac deer, badgers, migratory geese, ducks and more. Most residents will have at some point in their travels round the estate have seen Geese and other animals making use of the land adjacent to the Taylor Wimpey head office, building on this land would likely cause wildlife to leave the area removing an amenity enjoyed by many. Newton Leys is fortunate to have multiple talented photographers who take a great interest in the vast wildlife the estate has to offer, this is often evidenced through our local community facebook page, these posts bring joy and discussion about the vast array of wildlife living in the area.

Local, strategic, regional and national planning policies

Planning policy for traveller sites (December 19th 2023)

Policy B

Local planning authorities should ensure that traveller sites are sustainable economically, socially and environmentally. Local planning authorities should, therefore, ensure that their policies:

provide for proper consideration of the effect of local environmental quality (such as noise and air quality) on the health and well-being of any travellers that may locate there or on others as a result of new development.

The environmental impact of this site is likely to be considerable to the local wildlife population. The council have already indicated an impact to local wildlife in the area by installing red bat friendly street lighting. The position of the proposed traveller site is directly adjacent to woodland which may contain bats, drawing 100503-JLD-EMP2-DR-0002 (Private Lighting Layout Outline) details 5, 5-meter-tall lighting columns on the site, although the light temperature from these columns is 2700k they would negate any benefit of the recently installed bat friendly lighting along the redway. In addition, there is no significant buffer or corridor between the site and woodland, consideration should be given to Core Sustenance Zones as published by the Bat Conservation Trust.

● The centre of the site is approx 350 metres from the West Coast mainline a significant contributor of sound pollution in the area, sound insulation ofa static caravan is unlikely to perform as well as a home-made of bricks and mortar exposing occupants to persistent round the clock noise.

Locating sites away from railway was a recommendation in the document which this one supersedes (Designing Gypsy and Traveller Sites, Good Practice Guide) 3.18

● The centre of the site is approximately 100 meters from the boundary of an active landfill site which has recently received planning permission to operate for an extended period of time. The area of the proposed traveller site is subject to regular odour events from this landfill site. In the previous document which this one supersedes (Designing Gypsy and Traveller Sites, Good Practice Guide) 3.7 mention is made to evidence provided to the Select Committee in regards to the importance of site location, particularly with regards to sites not being placed next to tips.

● The community centre often hosts regular events which can be the source of noise such as football training and matches during the weekend mornings, these events can generate considerable noise in the localised area from activities such as shouting, cheering and the use of whistles. In addition to events such as Weddings and other types of celebrations where loud music may be present late into the evening.

Policy H

26 c) Promoting opportunities for healthy lifestyles, such as ensuring adequate landscaping and play areas for children.

● This site provides no play area provision for children, the closest being Oakbrook Park however this would require crossing Galapagos Grove which is a busy main road through the estate. This is in contrast to the site at Calverton which provides a play area meeting the recommendation in the document this one supersedes (Designing Gypsy and Traveller Sites, Good Practice Guide) 4.38

27) If a local planning authority cannot demonstrate an up–to-date 5-year supply of deliverable sites, this should be a significant material consideration in any subsequent planning decision when considering applications for the grant of temporary planning permission. The exception is where the proposal is on land designated as Green Belt; sites protected under the Birds and Habitats Directives and / or sites designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; Local Green Space, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, or within a National Park (or the Broads).

● We believe the location of the proposed site would be eligible to be considered Local Green Space due to the historic recreational use by local residents such as dog walking and nature watching in addition to the following criteria 

1. Being close to the community it serves 

2. Having special significance to the local community for its recreational value and wildlife.