Worried residents fear ‘danger’ road

More than 70 people attended the meeting of the North Royston Action Group on Monday night where they shared fears about Fairview Homes’ Site A development proposed for the north of the town.

The homes will be fed by a new access road which campaigners believe will add to commuters’ woes.

Jayne Bratton, who gave the presentation, said: “The biggest concern we have about the road is it is so close to the A505 and the steepness of the bend.

“It is by the roundabout on Old North Road which is already congested and it will only be left hand access which means you have to round the roundabout.

“A lot of people are really concerned about antisocial behaviour along that road and a lot of local residents are concerned about travellers moving in.”

She added: “The audience were clearly very concerned for the safety of local children who currently use the space.”

NRAG’s concerns extend to the new development and members believe residents’ properties will be swamped by the new houses.

The group claim one house on the bottom of Betjeman Road will be overlooked by four houses, one car park and an electrical sub-station.

District and county councillors were among the crowd but can’t pass comment to the Crow as they sit on North Herts District Council’s planning control committee.

The town council previously discussed the application and deemed the road “highly dangerous” deferring a decision on the site until more details emerged.

North Herts District Council is set to discuss the application and Mrs Bratton is urging residents to lodge complaints with the authority before a decision is made.

She said: “Basically, they are not putting any new facilities into Royston. What is Royston getting out of it?

“Fairview get something out of it, but what do we get out of it? We have all got a voice and we need to use it.”

The developer has had a 22-dwelling scheme, Site B, agreed in Royston, and has built the 59-home Site C estate.