I was expecting to speak, on behalf of residents of Clare, at the planning committee on the 2nd November. I am now not able to as I have a meeting with the Health Secreatary where I hope to discuss provision of GP services amongst other things. Please see my comments to the planning committee.

“I wanted to speak on the Townsend nursery development but now have a meeting clash with Stephen Barclay MP, the Health Secretary. If my comments could be included in the debate I would be grateful. See my comments below:

The proposed development on the Townsend Nursery site is infill within the current settlement so I am not against development per se. However, the high density of the development is not in keeping with the existing estate and will be at odds with this area. More importantly, the claims, by Anglia Water, that sufficient capacity exists is simply not true. I accept there may be capacity at the pumping station but the mains pipes are simply not fit for purpose. There have been 24 significant leaks in 24 months in the immediate area and adding load to these pipes doesn’t make sense. The general public will not understand how this council could approve this development without the necessary infrastructure in place.”