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Minster Parish Council backs opposition to plans for bungalows at Parsonage Chase, Minster, Sheppey, after resident plays bird recording

A council has backed opposition to plans for more than a dozen bungalows.

Plans for 15 three-bedroom properties in Parsonage Chase, Minster, Sheppey, were submitted to Swale council in June.

LISTEN: The recording which was played at the Minster Parish Council meeting

If given the go-ahead, they would be built in an area of woodland.

The proposal was discussed at a meeting of Minster-on-Sea Parish Council’s Planning and Transportation Committee on Thursday, October 17.

Anna Aldous, of Parsonage Chase, attended the meeting and played a recording of a morning bird chorus from the spring.

Miss Aldous, a school teacher in Maidstone, said: “The animals which are living on the site don’t have a voice.

The bungalows could be built on a woodland behind Parsonage Chase, Minster, if approved. Picture: Google
The bungalows could be built on a woodland behind Parsonage Chase, Minster, if approved. Picture: Google

“I played the clip of about 45 seconds and you can hear a blackbird and all the other birds on the site doing their thing.

“I was really disappointed. There are so many other brownfield places on the Island, I can’t believe in 2019 this is still being considered.”

She added there were also bats, jays, a barn owl, squirrels and hedgehogs also using the site.

Minster-on-Sea Parish Council has objected to the proposals.

A statement released after the meeting said: “This is designated as a traditional orchard, which is a Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat, that should be conserved.

'The animals which are living on the site don’t have a voice' - Anna Aldous

“The licence must be obtained before any such works begin.

“Minster-on-Sea Parish Council requests that enforcement action is taken immediately by Swale Borough Council, by way of issuing a stop notice.”

It added protected species are near the site including great crested newts, slow worms, grass snakes and lizards.

To view or comment on the plans, visit www.tinyurl.com/PlanningKM with reference number 19/503138/OUT.

Read more: All the latest news from the Isle of Sheppey

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