DEVELOPERS have been criticised for re-submitting plans for 160 new homes in Royston without resolving how the site will be accessed.

Fairview Homes is seeking permission to build on the two sites – site A, adjacent to Yeats Close, and site D, land north of Housman Avenue and Lindsay Close – as part of their ongoing development to the north of Royston.

But Royston Town Council’s planning committee is opposing the scheme as the firm has yet to submit plans for an access road, which would link the development to the A505 roundabout with the A1198 and The Old North Road.

Speaking at a meeting of the planning committee on Monday, Cllr Martin Beaver said: “Fairview have not taken notice of local issues and they need to stop.

“Mistakes have already been made on the Burns Road estate with uneven roads and blind corners because provisions weren’t made at the time of planning, and there are going to be fatalities there.

“The density of the housing is far too high, we need a sensitive development on that site.

“They can’t join Site A to Burns Road, it’s ludicrous.”

In June the town council deferred making a decision on the scheme because they felt an access road was required to ensure that Burns Road did not become gridlocked with extra cars.

Cllr Bob Smith said: “I object to North Herts District Council putting pressure on us to consider these two sites before we know about the access road.”

Fairview is already in the process of developing 70 houses north of Royston, on what it calls sites B and C. The plans for A and D are expected to go before North Herts District Council’s planning committee in January.

Ian Fullstone, head of planning at the district council, said: “These two residential planning applications are currently being considered in tandem with a third which is the application to build an access road to serve the two proposed developments.

“All three applications will go to committee together. Any supportive recommendation regarding the residential developments would be conditional upon the access road being approved and built so that both schemes can be accessed via Burns Road or The Old North Road.”

The North Royston Action Group (NRAG) has been campaigning against the development for the last three years.

Jayne Bratton, from NRAG, said: “Fairview’s application states that there are no traffic or parking issues along Burns Road. This is far from the truth.

“Building 160 houses will make this situation much worse and we fear for the safety of the children both during and post construction.”

The Crow contacted Fairview Homes this week, but had yet to receive a comment at the time of going to press.