Red Lodge was badly in need of regeneration and discussions were started as long ago as 1995. Subsequently a Master Plan was formed in 1998. The idea was to build some new houses to pay for this regeneration, create a village centre with a school around a new Millennium Community Centre. What has happened.......................
Building started on farmland, now known as Kings Warren, about 18 months ago. The site for the long awaited school has now moved to Kings Warren as will be the village centre with the date for the commencement of building the school now as 2010. Red Lodge is still awaiting regeneration with the Turnpike Road being voted the worst road in East Anglia in 2007!
The developer had put in an outline application for 700 dwellings, which, as it is outline planning could well mean 1,000. This is all in addition to the 1250 being built currently on the Kings Warren construction site. There is an infrastructure deficit based around:
- The school has not yet been built
- There is a lack of public transport
- Lack of hospital facilities
- Residents are still awaiting the long overdue regeneration.
An additional 700 dwellings will:
- Create 1000s of extra vehicle movements a day
- Massively increase commercial vehicles/construction traffic movements.
- Local villages will become rat runs for vehicles accessing the A14.
- Red Lodsge/Kings Warren will become a permanent building site, bringing with it crime and social problems.
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