Feelings run high at meeting over plans to build on leafy lane near Buckingham

Feelings ran high at a public meeting in Maids Moreton Village Hall over plans to develop a much-loved rural lane in Maids Moreton.

About 50 members of the public attended the meeting of Maids Moreton Parish Council last night (Wednesday, June 7), which discussed the planning application 23/01306/APP to build 15 self-build dwellings on the east field of Scotts Lane.

Lyn Robinson, founder of the Maids Moreton Conservation Group, told the Bucks Herald that the dead-end lane, off Avenue Road is a safe and well-used local cut-through to Main Street for pedestrians and dog walkers.

For 20 years, the Maids Moreton Conservation Group has maintained the verges of Scotts Lane, with a working party turning out every week to look after the wild flowers, shrubs and trees, monitor the habitat piles for hedgehogs and insects, rake up leaves, cut and clear the grasses and invasive species when necessary and change the hand-painted artwork displayed there every month.

The group shares wildlife news with all Maids Moreton residents in its newsletters.

Lyn has already objected to the proposals on behalf of the group. Following last night’s meeting, Maids Moreton Parish Council also submitted its objections to the plans, and more than 50 other objections have already been made.

The Tree Officer’s Report raises serious concerns about the loss or damage to a number of trees “which make an important contribution to the character and amenities of the area”.

Keira Ainsworth, headteacher of Maids Moreton CE School has strongly objected on behalf of the school. She said the school is already over-subscribed and that both Maids Moreton CE School and Maids Moreton Pre-school share a boundary with the proposed development, with many children using Scott's Lane as a safe pedestrian route to school.

She said: “Both the school and pre-school will be adversely affected by the proposal. During the build, the noise from the building works will interrupt learning. The proposed access point will cause increased congestion in Avenue Road with associated health and safety risks to children at drop-off and pick-up times during the build and once residents have moved in.

And she added: “Scotts Lane is a designated wildlife area which the school uses regularly as a valuable educational resource for environmental studies. It is important that the biodiversity of this site is protected, especially the protected great crested newts.”

Maids Moreton Parish Council is expecting its draft Neighbourhood Plan to be examined by the planning inspector shortly and says it would be inappropriate for his application to be determined while the Neighbourhood Plan is undergoing its final examination.

In its objection, it says the application lies outside the defined settlement boundary and so is contrary to both the emerging Neighbourhood Plan and the Vale of Aylesbury Plan (VALP). It is also within a proposed Local Green Space defined in the emerging Neighbourhood Plan.

The parish council added: “We are in process of organising a community-wide consultation on this application and will submit more detailed comments after this consultation has taken place.”

The closing date for objections will be 21 days from when the yellow planning notices go up, which is expected to be next week