Burnham-On-Sea.com readers have given a ‘thumbs down’ to the news that more than 60 acres of fields – described by the district council as a ‘green wedge’ – next to Burnham-On-Sea’s Queens Drive have gone on sale this week.
Burnham-On-Sea.com first reported on Monday that ‘for sale’ boards had sprung up along the main road connecting Burnham-On-Sea’s Love Lane with the Edithmead M5 roundabout, as pictured, although local councillors say no homes are planned there in the short-term.
Here’s a selection of the feedback Burnham-On-Sea.com has received this week following the story:
AL: “When is Burnham going to say enough is enough to the housing market, when you can’t get in or out during the workers’ and school run prime time. Perhaps the councillors don’t need to use the roads to and from work. So they wouldn’t know about the queues that face us daily. But a lot of people do! Let’s keep it a special place to live not turn it into a massive town.”
JF: “Most people who live here do so because they like the town as it is. This includes my own family who moved here from Bristol because we loved this busy little community and liked the fact that it was a small town. Who on earth would want it to develop. My answer to this is that people should move to a place and accept it as it is not try to change it to suit themselves and upset most of the other residents in the process. If you want a developed town, go to Weston-Super-Mare. If you want a quiet little seaside resort go to Burnham. It’s not all about money and the economy – for some of us there are much more important matters to consider.”
AR: “There should not be yet more homes in Burnham until lots more services are available and do we really need more Neville Jones sponsored houses? Please don’t spoil lovely Burnham any more.”
MM: “I feel this land should be left well alone. It’s a flood plain, water lies there autumn through to spring. It really is the last place locally to even consider building on!”
PT: “What has happened to the flood plain? I have always understood that this area was designated in case of flooding. Most of the time this land is underwater. Where are all the services coming from (schools, doctors etc) to accommodate this rise in building. I have lived here since 1969 and Burnham has grown tremendously and not always to our benefit. Some of the planning decisions, particularly in Highbridge, are a disgrace.”
DL: “I am all for new affordable housing being built. What concerns me, though, is that developers never build new schools, doctors surgeries etc to cope with the expanding housing areas. In this case, I would vote against housing being built on these fields as it would put a strain on the already stretched local infrastructure.”
WB: “It is all very well having 60 acres full of more housing, but how will the schools, doctors, local hospital etc cope. There has to be an improvement in these areas, as well as the Town Centre, to cope with all these extra people. I think it would be a shame to see all our green disappear.”
DN: “What happened to the fact that we have to leave that land alone as it forms part of a flood plain or has that been overlooked? It does not affect me as far as spoiling the geen belt, but it would if our homes our flooded regularly.”
CH: “These open fields form an attractive entry to Burnham and give it an open rural feel. More house built here will probably be bought by commuters and add to congestion at the Edithmead roundabout. It is doubtful that extra services will be provided. I have lived on the Rosewood Estate for 12 years and have to rely on Tescos in order to post a letter as there are no post boxes on the estate. I understand that this flood plain land, so is the addition of more housing likely to increase the risk of flooding to existing properties in this area. I strongly feel that this land should be retained as green corridor into Burnham.”
JP: “The land should not be used for building purposes. Burnham does not have the infrastructure to support buildings on this scale. There are insufficient doctor’s, schools and employment in this area to support the amount of housing that will undoubtedly be built here. On a personal note I, and many others, moved to this area to enjoy the countryside and the views. All this is rapidly being eroded with flats and houses being crammed in to as little space as possible – e.g. the Asda site. Burnham is becoming an eyesore.”
NP: “I think it would be the wrong thing for the town if these areas end up as housing estates, the infrastructure is not man enough for the town as it stands now (water, electric etc). If people want to live in an area with more housing then they should move back to the city and leave small towns alone… we don’t have enough people wanting new houses as it is and the council have to fill the unsightly premises with people kicked out from inner cities who go on to become chiefs of the local, once manageable, crime world. We don’t need any more thank you.”
CH: “It makes me so sad to read this story. I love living in our seaside/country town I want to be able to walk through acres of green fields not acres of ‘affordable housing’. It is not a town progressing it is a town getting bigger with no means to support itself. We have had no significant change to our high street or local industry in relation to any new developments and certainly are not offered any increased local amenities. It’s about time that our town stood for itself and said no to the decimation of OUR countryside.”
DP: “No way should that land off the Queen’s Drive be developed for building houses. It’s on a flood plain for a start. There are plenty of vacant properties on the market at the moment which are not selling, so why build more!”
RB: “Whilst housing is a great necessity, I understand that many of the properties built on the old radio station are still vacant. Surely it would be more prudent to ensure these properties are occupied before sacrificing green belt areas.”
“Another concern is the road access to these areas. Queens Drive is a very busy through route during the holiday season and extra development will only increase this and cause major problems for residents already in-situ.”
“The infrastructure would surely need to be addressed seriously. The GP surgeries are already very busy, particularly with the vast numbers of holidaymakers during the summer season accessing this facility. The hospitals are already overloaded and the public transport system would surely need to be increased before anymore building is entertained. The potential of even more cars on our local roads will be another major problem.”
“Where are all these people going to work? Surely this will put more pressure on the council services if people are unable to find work in this present climate. Having had a discussion with the Drainage Board some years ago about possible development of the Burnham levels, it was suggested that there was not the facility to ensure adequate drainage without millions of pounds being spent on a new system. We do live in an area which has a higher than average risk of flooding. Would not even more building increase problems? Are there no brown field sites available for building on? I would definitely be opposed to a commercial site or another supermarket being built within the Burnham area.”
GH: “It’s disgraceful that the district council is considering allowing any development on this wonderful green land – whether this year or in 2026. It is such a prominent entrance feature to Burnham – spoil this at your peril.”
