The Benefits of Grass

County Councillor Anne Brown at the proposed site as shown in the Leyland Guardian

County Councillor Anne Brown who represents Leyland South West at Lancashire County Council has urged local residents to have their say on a proposed development which would demolish 105 Slater Lane and build 8 new detached properties on the site.

The trend towards property developers acquiring houses with large gardens and building more homes on them is a national one and has become known as 'garden-grabbing'.

As more and more homes are needed and the government has encouraged development of brownfield (previously developed) sites to avoid using up green-belt land, this has been one, albeit controversial, solution property developers have found of where to put them. Planning law identifies gardens as brownfield sites.

There are a number of problems with such developments. Green space and having a garden in urban and suburban areas provides habitat for wildlife, cleanses the air by capturing carbon dioxide, offers rest and relaxation for the home-owner and importantly absorbs rainwater.

Some localised or flash flooding can be partly due to not enough land being available to absorb the rain and with more intense rainfall predicted (during the summer some parts of Britain experienced a months' rain in 24 hours) as the climate heats up this could become more of a problem in the future. However, all this must be weighed against the need for housing.

Coun Brown takes a pragmatic approach. Of the proposed development at Slater Lane she told the Leyland Guardian:

"I think that this part of Leyland is very beautiful and I would hate to see anyone building houses up to the river. I don't disagree with building houses on garden plots of land but I don't agree with the plans on this occasion as it will harm the natural beauty along the river. However, I do feel there is a need for more development in this area. It's something the residents need to have their say on."

"As a local resident I pass the site several times every day and I value the glimpse of rural riverbank that it affords. Kingfishers and herons can be seen."

Use the councillors' and representatives' contact details on this site to let them know what you think (by 17th December).