Plans for new homes refused due to ‘cramped living’ concerns

The council said the plans would provide ‘poor standards’ of homes for future occupiers

Plans to build four new homes have been refused due to “cramped living” conditions. Fern Homes proposed to build the homes at Gaul Tree Farm in High Road, Guyhirn, Wisbech.

The developers said the plans would provide “four good-sized dwellings for private use within the village assisting in community cohesion”. Off-road parking was also proposed, as well as landscaping.

Fenland District Council has refused the plans. FDC planning officers said it went against a development requirement to “deliver high quality environments by promoting high levels of residential amenity”.

It said the homes would provide a “poor standard of accommodation for future occupiers”. The council added: “The internal layout and floorspace of the dwellings would result in a cramped living arrangement, and the level of private amenity space provided is inadequate.

“These deficiencies would result in a substandard living environment, harmful to the residential amenity of future occupants.” The council also said the developers failed to provide a specific flood risk assessment.

The planning officer added the application “fails to demonstrate, through a robust and site-specific flood risk assessment and breach analysis, that the development would be safe for its lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere.”

Without a report, the officer said it didn’t demonstrate that future occupiers would be “safe from flood hazards”. Plans have previously been refused on the same site.

In 2024, plans were submitted to build seven homes on the site. The council refused on the basis it would provide a “poor outlook” for future homeowners, proposed gardens weren’t big enough, and there would be “potential noise and disturbance given the lack of separation” between the homes.