Nocton Hall

Parish Council Resolution

You may like to know the following resolution was passed by the Parish Council at the meeting on Tuesday 9th September:
 
“This Council wishes to place on record its complete and utter frustration at the continued failure of LEDA Properties to engage meaningfully with councillors and the local community over its plans for the future development of Nocton Hall and the associated former RAF hospital site.
 
Yet again, LEDA Properties has shown its complete disregard for the local community by not only failing to meet its own timetable for preparing an initial site development plan, as promised at the meeting held on 8th April, 2014 with the Chair, Vice-chair and Portfolio Holder, but also not even having the courtesy to acknowledge the Council’s request for a progress report.  In addition and despite various promises to the contrary, LEDA Properties has similarly failed to take any action whatsoever to minimise the incidence of unauthorised access to the site and fly-tipping, all of which has had a significant and negative impact on the residents of Nocton.

Under its stewardship of the site and through its failure to provide proper security, LEDA Properties has presided over the unauthorised removal of many of the Hall’s Grade 2 listed features followed by its total destruction by fire, the demolition and vandalism of the buildings and site of the former hospital and the desecration of the grounds comprising the former “pleasure gardens”.  The entire area is now an overgrown eyesore and an unwelcome attraction for fly-tippers, “zombie hunters” and other undesirable visitors whose activities cause a major nuisance to local residents.  The Parish Council notes that the increasing costs of dealing with this situation fall to the hard-pressed Council Tax payers and not to the current owners.

This Council calls, therefore, on the District Council, County Council, English Heritage and our local Member of Parliament to take whatever action they can to bring about an end to what has become an intolerable situation for the residents of Nocton.  On behalf of the community it serves, this Council reaffirms its total support for the future development of the site as agreed by the District Council following its consideration of the “Options Appraisal”.  As such, it wishes it to be noted that it is not opposed, in principle, to the construction of a limited number of houses as part of the necessary enabling development – despite Nocton being classified as a Tier 3 village with extremely limited infrastructure and negligible facilities.

Since purchasing the Hall and associated former Hospital site some 14 years ago, the LEDA Properties’ lack of any meaningful action to date would strongly suggest that it has, in fact, little or no intention of developing the site until at least the arrangement whereby a significant part of any development profit is required to be passed to the Ministry of Defence (the former owners) ends in approximately nine years’ time.  It therefore calls upon LEDA Properties to engage in an honest and open way with the local community through its democratically elected Parish Council regarding its future intentions for the site.  Should, in fact, this restriction be the main reason for the lack of any action to date, then we call upon our Member of Parliament to pursue its possible removal with his colleagues in the MoD so that a sustainable development along the lines envisaged in the “Options Appraisal” can take place to the benefit of all concerned at the earliest opportunity.”

Conclusion

It is further suggested that in addition to its circulation by way of an open letter to our MP, NKDC and LCC, the local media (e.g. BBC Look North, Lincolnshire Echo, etc) be invited to prepare further features on the Hall in order to raise public awareness of the issue.