Tracks

Walking past the enterance to the development (if I walk into town I have to walk this way, so I have no option but to notice what is going on), I noticed that there were fresh tyre track on the pavement (clearly fresh mud, far more than the last time I'd been). Just to reiterate, there is no blame to be placed on the drivers here. The planning application that allows this should simply not have been given in the first place, and the development should be stopped until a safe solution to this can be found, new plans if necessary.

Notice how much of the path is taken
up by the tracks

Further round the same corner:
The tracks come back on the pavement
in fuller measure. 

Lorries

When the planning application was passed, we queried whether it was actually possible to get access to the new houses safely for lorries, ambulances, fire engines, things like that. The traffic officer assured the planning committee that it was fine. I was walking past the development yesterday and there was a delivery going on, using the same road and route that will be used when the development is done (see here).

We had been assured that lorries would never need to mount the pavement, no danger to children, easy access, etc etc. I took a few pictures to prove the innacuracy of this statement. I have no beef with the lorry driver or the company - they were attempting the impossible, as we had said.

 Here we have the lorry clearly on a narrow pavement corner.










Just to be clear ...

 And here, some tracks I spotted later in the day showing that someone had put the full double wheel over the pavement. I can't prove that this was the development, but where else would dusty wheels be coming from round there?

Some pictures

Just for memory, what it looked like once upon a time ...

 Everything beyond the trees until the houses is affected.

 A view of the land. A tree that once housed a tyre swing.

A bike jump, beloved of the children

If you have other pictures of this place, email them to me and we can create a collective memory ...

Why this blog started

I live in Wantage, close to a small green which is right next to a piece of land which was generally used by all we asked as community land. Children played on it, grasshoppers jumped on it, bluebells grew. Really, it was nothing special, there must be (I hope) thousands of places like it across the UK.
We were assured that it would always remain like this - the houses it was next to had been built with a covenant that required this land not to be built on. Well, you live and learn - apparently that doesn't stop you building on it.
I'm sure this tale is repeated across the country and I fully understand the need for more houses. I just wanted to record the passing of a piece of land, and to maybe demonstrate that if the land did have to developed, the chosen option was, just maybe, a little "dense". If you want to see the planning applicaiton, it's on line at http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/java/support/Main.jsp?MODULE=ApplicationDetails&REF=P11/V0093