Minutes of parish council meetings

Holland Fen with Brothertoft Parish Council meeting held at

Brothertoft Village Hall on Tuesday 4t  February 2020 at 7:00pm.

In Attendance: with Councillor Peter Robinson in the Chair, there were present Councillors: Paul Anderson, Barry Holden, David Ball, Angela Cannon, Mark Leggott, Richard Leggott, Alan Dring and Nigel Early. 

Clerk – Miss Sarah Kulwicki

Also present:

Paul Wilkinson and Alistair Arundell– application of B/19/0520.

There was also over 40 members of public present.

The chairman declared the meeting open at 7:00 pm

1. Chairman’s remarks – The chairman welcomed all present and thanked all for coming out and supporting their council. He told all present that there will be a short bullet point presentation from the application and then they will have the opportunity to ask any questions they have. The meeting will be conducted in an orderly fashion and all questions will come through the chairman to ensure everyone’s comments are heard.

2. To discuss Planning application - ref: B/19/0520 – Boston West Golf Centre, Langrick Road.  Planning permission for the part change of use of the Golf Course for the siting of caravans with associated works including landscaping, handstandings and access routes; provision of a sales area including siting of "show units" and associated parking; and Outline planning permission (all matters reserved) for the development of a "hub" building of up to 12,000sqm total floorspace - to contain an ancillary reception/activity centre/spa (Class D2)/retail unit (up to 100sqm)/ food and beverage (Classes A1, A4 and A5) and facilities management and ancillary works; and provision of a sales building and associated works.

Representations from applicants:

Both applicants introduced themselves: Alistair Arundell is a developer and Paul Wilkinson is a hotel owner. They have both took on Boston West Golf Course to develop it and re-open the Golf Course, which they have all ready done. Unfortunately the business is losing money and cannot sustain itself in its current condition. They told all they are at the Golf Centre tomorrow if anyone would like to come and talk to them personally and get more information on the application.

The application is very similar to that of Centre Parks. It will have lodges with timber frames and wood-like cladding. They will be the latest models and are 33% more efficient than many homes. They are designed for people to come and holiday from Mon- Friday or Friday to Sunday. Some cabins will have hot tubs and some will be for families or couple getaways. It will be a bespoke resort with nature at its doorstep. They told all that it will take 5-10 years to develop. They have had many surveys carried out by experts and are aware the current main concern for the public is the traffic at Hubbert's Bridge junction. The traffic survey which has been done measured the traffic and the peak times are 8-9 am and 4-6pm. On Saturdays the main traffic is from 12-1pm. They have used this information to ensure people checking in for their holidays will avoid these times. i.e. check ins will be from 10am and they will not be allowed on site till after this time. They would like the application to support the local area by encouraging people to come to Boston to increase tourism for the area. There are only currently 6000 visitors to Boston yearly which, when compared to Lincoln which attracts 5 million people annually, could be a real boost for the economy. The application supports the LCC local plan and will generate an estimated 106 FTE jobs for the area depending on how active the site is when up and running. The park will run various activities like a climbing wall and archery. It will have an entertainment hub which will have live entertainment every night which will stop at 11pm. Hopefully the clubhouse if approved and money raised in the first three years from holidays and investors buying up to 30 of the lodges will allow the clubhouse to be built which will contain an indoor pool and spa.

They told all they are not taking anymore wedding bookings although they will host the ones they have booked for 2020 and will take no more future bookings so weddings will no longer be run. The current conference rooms will also stop being used once the development starts, if approved. This in turn will also decrease the traffic currently coming from the site as people will no longer be using these facilities but they will be arriving for their holiday. The hotel on site will continue to be active and will be separate from the lodges. The people stopping in the hotel will be able to use the facilities for the lodges like the hub, pool and spa.

The applicants proposed they will have an on-site shop to sell local produce and the site will hopefully run its own transport into town on Wednesdays and Saturdays (market days). This will encourage people to go to town and spend their money. They told the council once holidays makers have arrived on site in their cars they will not be able to leave until their departure time unless it is an emergency and the onsite security/ gate room will ensure this.

Questions from the council and public:

1. A member of public asked about public transport as there are no local bus stops. Highways have told them there is one outside the Golf Course. The public confirmed this was for school children only.  Alistair will look into this.
2. A member of public asked how many lodges will be sold to help fund the project. They told them 30 would be sold as they need £1.5 million to fund the project like the on-site roadways.
3. A member of public asked how they ones sold would be used. They were told only the owner and immediate family would be able to use it 21 days out of the year for holidays only. The rest of the time they will let the lodge out for them if they wanted. They do not want it to be a residential site as this will not encourage spending money.
4. A member of public asked if the location of the hub will change as it is very close to nearby homes. Alistair told them it would not change and it would affect them a lot in regards to the noise. They do plan on putting sounds barriers on site and hedges to help.
5. A member of public asked if they could use an alternative access route but the applicants told them the current access is feasible and it would be very costly to put a different access point in so if they don’t have to do it they won’t.
6. There will be an emergency exit point for flooding on Kirton Drove where Mrs Grant's bungalow is but this will be gated and locked and only used in an emergency,
7. A member of public asked why they have used traffic data from 2017 as the traffic has increased since then. The applicants told them this was a survey they had done with the last data available;  the last survey having been done locally in 2017. Lincolnshire county council also had their own independent survey carried out which showed the current access as suitable.
8. A member of public asked them if they could put conditions on the lodges so it would not be residential. The applicants said this would be down to planning to put the conditions on.
9. A question was asked in regards to how the water supply and sewerage is being carried to and from site. The applicants told the meeting  they are consulting with Anglian Water to see which is most suitable for the proposed site. 
10. A member of public asked what is their commitment to the project. They told them that they want to get the business up and running in 5 years.
11. A member of public asked if the 106 full time employees were included in the traffic survey.   They were not.
12. A member of public asked what will happen with the existing hotel. The applicants told them that the current hotel will continue to be used but they will not be allowed to use the park facilities as they are not staying on it.
13. A member of public asked if the Golf Course will be lit up all the time for the holiday users. The applicant told them that the course is currently a 24 hour course but they switch the lights off at 11 p.m.  They told the member of public they will change this to 10 p.m.  as this was causing an issue for him. The lodges will have their own lighting and low level LEDs will be used all around the site.
14. A member of public asked if they could engage with the local bus companies for clarification on what services will be available to the holidays makers.
15. A member of public told all present that the current footpath from the hotel to Hubbert’s Bridge was put in when they got planning permission for the hotel. All of this information can be found online.
16. A member of public asked why the website says the hotel extension has been carried out online but it hasn’t actually been done on site. The applicant told them that they are having the foundations put in so if they don’t get planning for the lodges the application for the hotel extension does not lapse, and  they will do that instead.
17. A member of public asked about the current wildlife on site. The application told them all relevant checks have been done by the environmental agency and there are no problems which have been picked up.
18. A member of public asked about the flood risk as it is on a flood plain. The applicants told them a flood risk assessment has been done and LCC has had independent surveys done and the site for the lodges has higher land already which a drone has picked up, the lodges will also be built higher up on stilts.
19. A member of public asked if pets would be allowed on site. They confirmed that they would have designated pet areas as they don’t want children to be playing near where dogs may have had a poo.
20. A member of public asked how the boundary would be secured. The applicants will have green Heras  fencing around the majority of the site.
21. A member of public asked about the foot traffic on Kirton Drove and the applicants told them the site would be secure with security guards on site too but if someone wanted to walk on a public highway they can.
22. Member of public told the applicants that they would like to see the site succeed as something needs to happen with the current area.

The council thanked the applicants for coming and so did the public. They allowed the public the opportunity to look at the plans.

There were no public in attendance while the councils comments were being discussed.

Councils final comments to be submitted:

1. The main issue with the site is the traffic congestion the last report used was from a traffic survey which was based in 2017. The traffic has increased substantially since then and the council would like to see an up to date version being used.
2. On the Main road next to Hubbert's Bridge community hall an application was refused for a house with multiple occupancy as this would cause excess traffic.
3. The noise from an on-site entertainment bar would be substantial for the residents of the area so perhaps some conditions could be put in place.
4. The boundary for the proposed development would need to be very secure. The council wish to see higher than 5ft fencing being used, especially if animals (dogs) are brought on site.
5. The application encourages the use of local transport but there is only a school bus which stops nearby and the trains only run to Nottingham not into Boston, some transport services need to be made available for this application. Better research needs doing in regards to this.
6. Low level lights on site would be a key point to ensure.   The Golf Course itself is currently very bright and having more on site lights plus lights in the cabins would make this site light up substantially.
7. The council would like to see restrictions on the site for how long owners and customers of the cabins can stay as they do NOT want it to be a residential site.

3. Date of next meeting –Tuesday 3rd March 2020, This meeting will commence at 7:00 p.m. at Holland Fen village Hall.

The meeting closed at 9:15pm