The biggest residential development in the history of Bourne has been Elsea Park with 2,000 new houses originally planned over a period of ten years.

The ambitious scheme costed at £10 million was announced in March 1999 and expected to increase the population by 50% at a time when it was almost 14,500 (2001 census). Original estimates were that the estate would be completed within a decade but the economic downturn which began in 2008 delayed building work and added several years to the original projection.

The site chosen was 300 acres of prime agricultural land alongside the main A15 trunk road to the south west of the town and on the very edge of a picturesque spinney known as Elsea Wood and so the new estate was called Elsea Park.

The development was greeted with a great deal of criticism, even derision, because of the lack of consultation and the speed with which it was pushed through, the main objections being that a housing scheme of this magnitude would not only encroach on the existing green belt but would also increase traffic flows through the town centre at peak periods and on roads in the vicinity that were already overcrowded, particularly the main A15 into Peterborough.

It was also feared that the population explosion which would bring an estimated 6,000 newcomers to the town would put undue pressure on schools, libraries, parking, public transport, leisure amenities, medical and other facilities.

Quentin Davies, who was then the town’s MP (the member for Grantham and Stamford), warned that the development was in the wrong place and that South Kesteven District Council should be more careful about what he described as "handing out planning consents like so much confetti" without due regard for the infrastructure.

A public exhibition was held at the Red Hall in October 1999 in an attempt to allay public fears about the effect that the massive new estate would have on the locality but many of the 200 people who attended came away totally dispirited by the experience because there was insufficient information over the provision of the additional facilities that would be needed to cope with such an immense influx of people. Visitors were told that the development would take ten to fifteen years to complete although no time schedule was given for the public facilities included in the plan.

Despite the opposition, members of the council’s planning and development control committee voted 15-1 in favour of granting outline planning permission when they met on November 2nd and this was subsequently ratified by the full council. As a result, work began in the summer of 2001 and the first houses were completed by the following year.

The council repeatedly tried to allay criticism of the development by citing advantages of the planning gain, that is public services provided with financial help from the developers, and these have included a new south west relief road (completed 2005), community centre (2012) and school (2014) although the much needed doctor’s surgery has not yet materialised.

But the most important undertaking connected with Elsea Park was given in 2005 when SKDC sought to appease further disapproval with an assurance that it would be the last new housing development to be imposed on Bourne.

The pledge came in an unequivocal statement to this newspaper on 9th December which said that no more houses would be built after currently identified projects were completed. In a letter to the editor, a senior planning officer said that three sites around the town had been identified in their consultation document for the future of the South Kesteven district as being suitable for employment development but not residential. “No consideration has been given to their suitability for housing”, said the statement. “Indeed the document makes it clear that the council thinks that Elsea Park is sufficient to meet the town’s needs.”

This was also confirmed by the late Don Fisher, a town and district councillor, who said: “I was so impressed that I sought confirmation from the council’s chief planning officer and he assured me that there would be no more housing in Bourne after Elsea Park.”

This has now been proved to be completely misleading and so these words have come back to haunt us because since then, the building of new houses around Bourne has continued apace.

The old hospital site in South Road was given planning permission for 71 new homes in 2003 and there have been several other major developments approved since that promise in 2005 including the Great Northern Gardens (106 homes), Willoughby Road (42) the old laundry site in Manning Road (47) and The Croft in North Road (68) and the old Raymond Mays garage site in Spalding Road and the adjoining Rainbow supermarket in Manning Road (108).

The guarantee of no further housing announced by the council in 2005 was welcomed because the steady influx of new families was already putting a strain on our community services and amenities and although there have been improvements in some areas, there remains increasedpublic demand on all of them.

Yet two further developments have now been proposed by SKDC in their Consultative Draft Local Plan which sets out future growth for the town, both of which have attracted widespread public opposition because of the likely impact on Bourne Wood, land to the west of Beaufort Drive (190 new homes) and land near Cedar Drive (45 new homes). Public meetings and a petition opposing both schemes are underway together with a spirited campaign in the social media with a message from the people that the town does not want any more.

New developments must win public approval if our councils are to secure the respect they seek. Housing may be acceptable at a reasonable rate of progress but dwellings should be built in the right place and accompanied by a commitment to provide the necessary services if Bourne is to be an attractive and convenient community for this and future generations and it is up to our local councillors, those we have been elected to protect the people’s interests, to ensure that these obligations are fulfilled.