Planning Permission - Construction of vehicular access (works started). Hedge End, Peppin Lane, Fotherby, Louth, LN11 0UW - Find a freedom of information request

Re: N/052/01682/23 | Planning Permission - Construction of vehicular access (works started). | HEDGE END, PEPPIN LANE, FOTHERBY, LOUTH, LN11 0UW - comments from Highways and Suds on the ELDC planning portal for the above application.


1. Did someone from Highways actually make a site visit and, if so, when and what time of day? Were any photos taken? 


2. The proposed driveway is at the narrowest part of the lane, which is a block end so traffic entering the lane has to return the same way. Peppin Lane is a busy lane for horse riders and walkers who have to use the road itself as there is no footpath for most of it, certainly not where this driveway would go. How could an additional entry/ exit at this narrow point not be considered a safety issue?


In your letter you give a link to an article about dropped kerbs. If you have visited the site, you will be aware that there is no footpath and the illegal driveway has only a chalk bed so dropped kerbs are inapplicable.

The hedgerows in front of the house in question are protected as a result of a previous planning appeal and the hedgerows in the other direction, alongside the allotments, are also thick and make the line of vision for anyone attempting to exit the driveway, very difficult indeed. The allotment hedges are also on a bend in the road so you would not immediately see a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. 


Traffic using this narrow lane has to drive in the middle of the road at this point, as the attached photos show.


3. Do you not consider this to be an issue?


4. Did your inspector take any photos when they visited the site?
 

1. The site was visited on the 15th of September and the 22nd of September 2023. No photos were taken.

2. Drivers leaving the access will have sufficient visibility of any users of the lane and wait for them to pass. Furthermore, this application is not for additional dwellings, so it is not expected to increase vehicle movements along the lane. There are numerous accesses along Peppin Lane of a similar layout and there have been no reported injury collisions along the full length of the lane within the last five years, therefore, it is not expected that the access would cause unacceptable impact on highway safety. When the access is not in use it will act as a passing place along this narrow section. This is a standard informative we add to any application where a new vehicular access is requested. It is to inform the applicant that they must apply to the Vehicle Crossings team for an access, and it must be built to Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) specification. This is a separate process to this planning application.

3. This is common for many of our back lanes in Lincolnshire, the crash data shows that there have been no reported injury collisions within the last 5 years along the full length of the lane. Additionally, when the access is installed to LCC standard it will create an informal passing place for this section of road. Furthermore, the application is for a new access and no additional dwellings, so the lane will have the same number of vehicles using it. Therefore, the proposals are not seen to have an unacceptable impact on the public highway safety or severe impacts on the road network.

4. No photos were taken.