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Child safety concerns over access to 125 new homes

John Wimperis Bridget Petty holds a large cardboard sign with a pedestrian road sign on it showing an adult and child holding hands as they walk in a red-lined triangle. The sign says 'Hands off our route to school' and is covered with bright red handprints of children. She is holding the sign in the middle of the council chamber, with people taking their seats. There is a large display screen behind her showing plans. John Wimperis
More than 800 objections to the plans have been received from residents

"Serious concerns" for children's safety have been raised over plans to build more than a 100 homes in a field in a Somerset village.

A decision on 125 homes built on Farleigh Fields, Backwell, is to be decided by a public inquiry. North Somerset Council has pledged to improve road safety at the development but residents have urged the local authority to fight the plans.

At a council meeting on 18 December, Sarah Ould, chair of Backwell Parish Council, said the village had "legitimate concerns" about safety related to increased traffic along Dark Lane.

A spokesperson for the developer Persimmon told the BBC "a range of traffic calming measures" had been included in their plans.

There are plans for a house to be knocked down to build an access road to the new development, but councillors have raised concerns that this would be too narrow with limited visibility, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported.

The planning committee heard many children already walked unsupervised along Dark Lane, while the road was used by drivers who ignored the 20mph speed limit and HGVs.

Bridget Petty The 'Hands off our route to school' sign before it has been covered in red handprints. A child's arm in a blue jumper can be seen hovering over the sign, with their hand covered in red paint. There is a single red handprint on the sign. Bridget Petty
Councillors have called for measures to ensure motorists stick to 20mph speed limits

Green councillor Bridget Petty, who represents the village in North Somerset Council, urged members of the planning committee to oppose the development.

Holding aloft a "hands off our route to school", painted with the hands of Backwell children, she told the committee they had come together before the Christmas fair and "put their hands up to say that they would like us... to care about their safe route to school".

She added: "I believe we don't want new developments to be at the expense of local road safety and people's lives."

Conservative committee member Terry Porter, who represents Hutton and Locking, said: "I do have serious concerns about how safe this is."

The Persimmon spokesperson said the measures within the plans include "speed cushions" at 50 metre intervals along the road to maintain the speed limit, "going beyond standard guidance".

"All safety measures comply with Department for Transport guidance and the planned access road meets stringent visibility standards as determined by the local authority," they said.

"These measures have been independently reviewed and approved through a third-party road safety audit, ensuring they meet the highest standards of safety.

"This development will deliver much-needed homes for local people, addressing vital housing needs in the area. We were grateful for the support of North Somerset councillors and officers this week and will continue to work closely with the local authority to minimise disruption, prioritise public safety, and ensure this project benefits the entire community."

John Wimperis People sit in the North Somerset Council chamber looking up at a large projector screen with a birds-eye plan showing lots of houses on a green space. The room has very high ceilings and is painted a light green, with high wooden panelling running around the outside of the room. John Wimperis
More than 200 homes in total are planned for the area

The council's planning committee missed its deadline for deciding the application due to stretched resources and the departure of a planning officer on the case, the LDRS understands.

This resulted in an appeal from developers Persimmon meaning the decision will now be made by the government's planning inspectorate.

Instead of making a full decision the committee were asked to make an "indicative decision" to set out what the council should present at the inquiry.

Planning officers recommended the council should accept the plans and present no defence but councillors instead voted to challenge the developers to improve the access road at the inquiry.

After more than an hour debating the plans, the committee voted 11-1 to not object to the homes, but to argue for a new condition that building did not go ahead until traffic calming measures, ensuring motorists do not exceed the 20mph limit on Dark Lane, had been installed.

Green councillor Tom Nicholson, the only member of the committee to object, said it was not their job to "come up with safe access" and described the application as "straight up unsafe".

He added there had been 800 objections from local residents, which he said "can't be sniffed at".

This is the second development set to be built on Farleigh Fields. Backwell locals fought plans to build on the fields for 40 years but, earlier this year, Persimmon finally got the green light to build 90 homes on fields.

Its plans to build the latest development of 125 homes as "Farleigh Fields West" were submitted in June.

A six-day public inquiry before the planning inspectorate is set to be held from 11 March.

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