'Build something useful instead!'- Residents react to 302-home plans for Fylde coast town
Fylde residents have had their say after plans were revealed for a new 302-home development in St Annes, featuring a commercial centre and sports facilities.
The major development would feature 302 houses, a care home, 52 retirement apartments, two drive through fast food restaurants, padel courts, a playground and a medium-sized supermarket. The plans will now be decided on by Fylde Council, although a decision is expected to take several months.
Residents in St Annes, Lytham and surrounding areas have reacted in varying ways to the plans. Many were left concerned about the potential loss of farmland and green spaces, and some doubted the viability of the plans in their current form.
One resident said: “Can you not repair the houses in surrounding areas or knock down and build on the land they are on. Save some of the green space please.”
Another local was also concerned with the impact on greenbelt land: “What about doctors, dentists, nursery or school. The main issue is once the land has gone it will never come back. There are enough brown sites to be used up before they use farm land.”
One person said: “ “By the time construction starts, it will be only expensive homes getting built, the rest is just to get it through planning and will have been cancelled.” One man was open to the idea: “Sounds okay but maybe if they included a Doctors surgery and perhaps a dentist people might be a little more supportive.”
A number criticised the need for more housing, with one woman saying schools could become ‘overloaded’ and another saying the scheme was ‘unnecessary’ Another man questioned the need for padel courts: “Why build more sports facilities? Surely it would be wiser to build a gp, a school, a dentist, or build something useful instead!”