Residents of a Herefordshire village have strongly objected to a planned new development of eight “urban” houses.

Hereford real estate firm BDLM plans to develop the disused Lingen Nursery site south of the village of the same name, near the Welsh border at Presteigne, having recently completed the similar-sized Oak Brook Meadow development on land immediately to the north.

But public consultation on the proposal, now closed, drew over 30 objections, mostly from local residents.

RELATED NEWS:

Hannah Madden said the scheme “would be another urban-style development [of] homes unaffordable for local, working families”.

Hugh Dove said the recent construction work on the neighbouring site “continued for some two years and presented local residents of this peaceful village with a degree of noise, disruption and inconvenience that they would not wish to experience again”.

These new homes already account for the eight earmarked for Lingen in the area’s development plan, he pointed out.

OTHER NEWS:

Angela Thompson noted that the plan also identified Lingen as “the least suitable location for development because of its poor road infrastructure and lack of public transport”.

Phillip Barnett added on this: “I and my fellow councillors put a lot of work into the neighbourhood development plan, it should be adhered to.”

What are your thoughts?

You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here.

Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence.

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust has also objected, pointing to the proposed development’s “exceptionally close proximity” to the Lime Brook, a designated local wildlife site  and tributary of the protected river Lugg which contains excessively high levels of phosphates.

Herefordshire Council’s ecologist pointed out that “a direct outfall to the adjacent watercourse is proposed”, but added the developer intends buying phosphate credits from the council “to achieve required nutrient neutrality”.

The council says it expects to decide on the application early next month.