Resident says new housing development is ‘tip of the iceberg’ for Cambridgeshire town

A concerned resident said services in the town are already being “absolutely stretched” to their limits

A resident says they are “dead against” plans for a new housing development that could be built on the edge of the town they live in. Plans have been submitted by Bellway Strategic Land to build up to 260 homes on Dexter’s Farm, in Godmanchester. The proposed site is in the south of the town and close by to Whitehill Gardens, another Bellway estate.

The resident, who wished to stay anonymous, claimed many services in the area are already “stretched” to their limits. They said: “I think it’s bad. You look at the doctor’s surgery in Brampton in Godmanchester and [it’s so hard to get] an appointment to see them. That’s not because they are bad doctors, they just can’t keep up with the capacity. There’s no infrastructure or upgraded facilities. A friend of mine rung up the other week to go see and doctor. It wasn’t a really serious thing but they said they had to wait seven weeks for an appointment, which is ridiculous. If it’s an emergency, it’s 10 days to a fortnight. The size of Godmanchester keeps growing and growing but still using the same facilities.”

A spokesperson for NHS Central East Integrated Care Board said: “When new homes are planned, we work closely with local authorities and housing developers to ensure that the health needs of communities are met.”

The resident claims that other emergency services are also stretched. They said: “If you ring for an ambulance, I know somebody broke his leg the other year and rung for an ambulance and they said it would be a two hour wait. It’s just that everything seems to be absolutely stretched to its limit.

“You ring up for police assistance and sometimes they can get out to you and sometimes they can’t. I’ve been told before that they can’t get out until the next day and that’s not great if there’s ongoing crime or a break-in. But they just haven’t got the resources. The more you build, the more you put a stretch on everything.”

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We continue to make significant progress in improving our response times. This progress was reflected in last month’s performance figures, which showed our fastest average response time for Category 2 emergencies – such as chest pain or stroke symptoms – since May 2021.

“We engage regularly with local authorities on housing developments as part of the planning process, and where possible we will seek appropriate funding from developers to help expand our service to meet the needs of local communities.”

Alongside the already struggling facilities, the issue of traffic is also a worry for the resident. They added: “In the mornings, traffic queues along Cambridge Road. If there’s an accident in the area, which there often is, all of the vehicles get diverted through Godmanchester and the surrounding areas get filled up. It can get gridlocked to the point where nobody is going anywhere. I think the town is just getting overloaded and it can’t cope.”

Godmanchester Town Council recently released a draft objection to the application. The statement said: “Godmanchester Town Council strongly objects to this application. The proposal is contrary to the development plan, contrary to the strategy and express wording of the Godmanchester Neighbourhood Plan, contrary to the Council’s own evidence base for Dexter’s Farm and would cause significant and irreversible harm to the countryside setting, landscape character, settlement identity and long-term sustainability of Godmanchester.”

The Town Council mentioned concerns surrounding the walkability of the area, the loss of farmland, and suggests the development would not create a functioning part of the town. It also highlighted a lack of community spaces planned for the development such as no pub, library or youth spaces being considered.

The resident mentioned being worried about the possibility of even more developments being built in the area and what would happen to the wildlife. They said: “I think this new development is just the tip of the iceberg. They could start building even more houses in the area. What’s going to happen to all the wildlife there? There’s lapwings that nest on the field and they’re all going to just get pushed away.”

A spokesperson for Bellway Strategic Land said: “We are at an early stage in the planning process for this site. As part of this process, a statutory consultation will be carried out by the local authority, providing an opportunity for residents to comment on the proposals.”