BRIGG HOUSING PLAN SCRUTINISED IN GREAT DETAIL

We went down after the evening meeting and took this picture looking across the Donkey Field play area towards the tree-lined development site. Homes in Almond Grove can be seen on the right.

A proposal to build five new homes, with garages, on land off Almond Grove, Brigg, was examined in great detail by the Town Council's Planning & Environment Committee.
The House of Lords has a function to scrutinise Parliamentary Bills before they become Acts and therefore laws of the land. Brigg Town Council, at grassroots level in local government, has a similar role within the planning process, with the North Lincolnshire unitary authority having the final say on whether permission is granted to applicants.
Brigg's Planning & Environment Committee met in the Angel Suite, under the chairmanship of Coun Mike Storey,  and looked at this application  with a fine toothcomb.
The area of land in question is near Almond Grove, close to the Donkey Field play area (pictured) and  the allotments off Atherton Way. It has an array of mature poplar trees.
Older Brigg Blog followers will recall this once being the Tune family estate, if we can call it that - Mountain Ash.
Just about every member of the Brigg Town Council committee chipped into the discussions at some point. They looked at everything from access to trees, drainage, the approximate number of cars per household, and even the likely collection arrangements for wheelie bins and recycling boxes.
On several occasions it was suggested that if local residents had views or "local knowledge" to impart to the planners, they should make them known to North Lincolnshire Council.
The poplar trees on the site were discussed at length. Will they be left as they are? Will they be lopped to reduce the height? As poplars draw huge amounts of water from the ground, would their removal affect local drainage? 
Coun Storey pointed out this is a brownfield, "infill" site which could mean new housing for Brigg "without resorting to greenfield."
Coun Ann Eardley, the Deputy Town Mayor, contributed to the discussions as many points were raised and discussed. Her local knowledge of the Newlands Estate is, of course, second to none!
The application got a very thorough hearing,  following which the Town Clerk  passed on the Town Council's observations to North Lincolnshire's planners who must now decide the application.