LETTER: Petition raised against Ashover proposal

The developer(Marsh green estates) has submitted an application to build 40 houses on a greenfield site in Ashover village.
It is in a special landscape area and outside the village envelope and the trees are covered with a tree preservation order.
The field is still actively farmed in fact there are cows on there now and it still produces animal food or crops for human consumption.
When this land has gone there is no more but there are alternative sites to build houses which should be used first.
The houses are three, four andfive-bedroom houses in the main which will attract familes (four of them are lifestyle bungalows whatever they are). 
The school is already over subscribed, the roads in and out of the village are already at capacity (particularly at school times) - basically the village infrastructure will not cope.

There is no industry in or around Ashover so they will have to travel to work. I think the petition shows the strength of feeling against this proposal.

We can only hope that common sense will prevail when the council makes its decision on this application.

By Christopher Pratt