Hayes Street Farm has encountered a plan to demolish all the existing buildings except the farmhouse, to be replaced with four four-bedroom houses, two five-bedroom houses and three cottages. The plans have been met with an uproar from local residents and neighbours, stating it’s a ‘needless demolition’. Awareness has been risen by the farm owners in an attempt to overturn the proposal which has been answered with 230 objections so far.
The most concerning issues seem to be that demolishing the farm will extract some of Hayes’ history, whilst the building of the houses will feed into the congestion problem in the Hayes Village area. Some residents are also concerned that adding more housing will put stress on the local schools and businesses, such as Hayes Primary School and Hayes Secondary School.
Miss Shirley Hickson, a local resident, believes ‘The demolition of these historic farm buildings is yet another blot on our landscape as we see Bromley becoming another Croydon.’, as written in her objection note. She also states ‘It would be a shame to see the loss of the village character,’, emphasising on how much locals care for the farm and its background. Mrs Jo Davies, a neighbour of the farm, conveyed ‘It [the new housing] will put a black mark on the lovely area.’
However, on the ‘Biodiversity Survey and Report’ (that can be found on www.bromley.gov.uk), they concluded that the development should not ‘fragment green habitats’ and ‘No evidence of nesting birds were found anywhere on the site.’. They also went on to emphasise that the finding of any nesting birds will be postponed until the young have fled, so they will not be affecting the wildlife.
They have also checked for badges sheltering at the site and stated there were none to be found. It has been taken into consideration that badgers may use the area and will be considered during the construction, and a recommended badger surgery prior to the development has been proposed. Along with this, improvement recommendations were added to the report, with the quality of the ecosystem post-development in mind.
You can have your say too. Notices have been put up around Hayes, showing where online you can object. The deadline is February 4th, which still leaves a few days for the plans to be overrun. They also have a website (www.hayesstfarm.co.uk) which will give you access to their Twitter page, along with their timetable so far for their Boot Fairs, which are held 2-3 times a month.
