Minster Parish Council backs opposition to plans for bungalows at Parsonage Chase, Minster, Sheppey, after resident plays bird recording
16:00, 31 October 2019
A council has backed opposition to plans for more than a dozen bungalows.
Plans for 15 three-bedroom properties in Parsonage Chase, Minster, Sheppey, were submitted to Swale council in June.
LISTEN: The recording which was played at the Minster Parish Council meeting
If given the go-ahead, they would be built in an area of woodland.
The proposal was discussed at a meeting of Minster-on-Sea Parish Council’s Planning and Transportation Committee on Thursday, October 17.
Anna Aldous, of Parsonage Chase, attended the meeting and played a recording of a morning bird chorus from the spring.
Miss Aldous, a school teacher in Maidstone, said: “The animals which are living on the site don’t have a voice.
“I played the clip of about 45 seconds and you can hear a blackbird and all the other birds on the site doing their thing.
“I was really disappointed. There are so many other brownfield places on the Island, I can’t believe in 2019 this is still being considered.”
She added there were also bats, jays, a barn owl, squirrels and hedgehogs also using the site.
Minster-on-Sea Parish Council has objected to the proposals.
A statement released after the meeting said: “This is designated as a traditional orchard, which is a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat, that should be conserved.
'The animals which are living on the site don’t have a voice' - Anna Aldous
“The licence must be obtained before any such works begin.
“Minster-on-Sea Parish Council requests that enforcement action is taken immediately by Swale Borough Council, by way of issuing a stop notice.”
It added protected species are near the site including great crested newts, slow worms, grass snakes and lizards.
To view or comment on the plans, visit www.tinyurl.com/PlanningKM with reference number 19/503138/OUT.
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