News Out-of-towners take over Snaith
A town mayor has hit out at the 'Chelsea tractor brigade' who he says are spoiling rural towns and villages.
Councillor Frank Townshend, mayor of Snaith and Cowick, said people moving into rural areas to get away from the hustle and bustle of big cities had an idealised version of living in the country which, when they finally settled in their new home, didn't live up to expectations.
He said Snaith had been spoiled by high-earning, big-city types who had no real affinity with rural areas.
And he added that Snaith had been turned into a 'dormitory town' - one whose residents tend to commute to work outside the area - because of the influx of out-of-towners.
"That's what tends to happen when you have these 'wonderful' new developments," said Cllr Townshend. "They want to move out of the city and live in the country, but they don't seem to integrate, by and large. They are actually destroying the very lifestyle that they are looking for."
Cllr Townshend said he appreciated that people wanted to get out of overcrowded cities but that many didn't have any idea about rural life.
"As soon as they hear the cocks crowing in the morning or cattle mooing, or tractors ploughing in the fields, they complain," he said. "And when there's mud on the roads it spoils their Chelsea tractors."
He added that most of the people living in newly-built houses "don't do much for Snaith - they treat it as a dormitory town.".
"They go to work in Wakefield or Doncaster or Leeds, or wherever it is they work, then come back in the evening and hardly ever see the town centre."
Cllr Townshend spoke out after Goole and Snaith Town Council had been shown a report compiled by a special working party, which looked into the ramifications of a new housing framework for the East Riding.
The Local Development Framework is a consultation exercise which will look into the 'sustainability' of towns and villages in the region to see if they have the capacity and the infrastructure to cope with housing developments.
The three-year consultation process is a subsidiary part of Government plans to build 440,000 new houses in Britain over the next 20 years. Up to 1,190 new homes will be built in the East Riding each year, and there will be an extra 24,440 homes erected in the Yorkshire and Humber region a year - up from the current 15,000.
However, as far as Snaith and Cowick Council is concerned, it's a case of "not in our back yard".
Its working party - made up of of four councillors, with Cllr Townshend as chair - is fundamentally against the proposals and sets out several reasons why.
Its report, which was discussed at a meeting of the council on Monday, stated that the town council "Would not wish to see any major housing developments permitted in Snaith and Cowick.".
The report added: "Any development should be limited to infill and brownfield sites in all three of our communities (Snaith, West Cowick, and East Cowick). Recent housing developments in Snaith have not been to meet local housing need and have attracted a commuting dormitory population, which is of no benefit to Snaith.
"These developments have proved to be of no social or economic benefit to the community."
It added that the new developments - two major housing estates have been built in Snaith in recent years - had "not yet been fully integrated into the area".
The report said that affordable housing should only be provided in Snaith and Cowick where there was a local need and "where employment was available".
Smaller and cheaper homes should not be mixed with 'executive-type' homes because this could be "detrimental to the amenity" of the larger houses".
Flood risk was also a major factor in the councillors' objections to further development.
Snaith and Cowick had been identified as a major flood-risk area but Snaith didn't have a secondary flood barrier around the river Aire, unlike most of its neighbouring communities.
The report stated that the floods in 2007 had shown that maintenace of drains and dykes had been "inadequate" due to constraints placed upon the Environment Agency and the East Riding Council.
The working group also expressed concerns about the lack of public transport in the area and the problems this would pose if extra housing were to be built.
The poor public transport system, meanwhile, meant the area did not meet the criteria for a sustainable community. The report said that the public transport which did exist did not allow residents to commute outside the local area to get to work. It added that the rail service consisted of just two trains to Leeds per day and one which returned from Leeds at "inappropriate times" for commuting workers.
Councillors were also concerned about the environmental impact of more houses. They contend that, because the majority of people travel to work in West Yorkshire or South Yorkshire by car, the carbon footprint in the area would be increased.
The report added that there were only limited employment opportunities in the area.
Cllr Townshend said Snaith and Cowick "just didn't have the infrastructure" for any more housing.
"The roads can't cope and we already have problems with drainage," he added.
Published on 12th June 2008 in News.
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Comments
Posted by Susanne Porton at 21:18:24 on 19 June 2008
As someone who moved into Snaith in the past couple of years from a city I am disgusted by this publication. Myself and my 2 children are fully integrated into the village and in many respects contribute to the community. I work within walking distance of snaith and my money is readily accepted in all of the shops be it multiples or independant retailers so it appears that my money is good enough for the area if I am not. Cllr Townshend I suggest you apologise to the many you have singled out in this prejudice statement.
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