Bungalows approved for former Lavender Mill site in Manea

Developers have been granted permission to start work on almost 30 new homes in a Fenland village, all of them bungalows.

The application, brought by James Development Company, was approved by Fenland District Council (FDC) this week and entails 23 two-bed bungalows and six single-storey three-bed houses to be built in Manea.

The site, Lavender Mill on Fallow Corner Drove was, until recently, a disused grain store.

While developers were granted outline planning permission for the scheme in 2020, they have now been given the go-ahead to start work after submitting their designs for the new homes to the district council.

These say that all homes will have a garage, parking space, and garden and that there will also be a central public open space.

But while Fenland Council’s planning committee unanimously agreed to allow works to go ahead, they were not without objection.

Manea Parish Council said that the layout and design of the buildings were “unacceptable” because they were too close to the village boundary and because the access road was too narrow.

Members of the public objecting to the development also say that amenities, particularly local schools and health services, are already overstretched.

Councillors asked developers at the planning meeting whether they would consider contributing to local services, but were told that it was too late to request this in the usual way, via an S106 agreement, as outline planning permission has already been granted.

But Councillor Ian Benney (Conservatives, Chatteris South) asked if developers could find “through the goodness of your heart and the openness of your wallet” a way to contribute regardless.

Developers said they would consider it.