A SWARTHMOOR housing estate could open the door for over-intensive development if approved, a local councillor has said.
An application has been submitted to build 27 houses on land close to the Cross-a-Moor junction, in Pennington Lane.
South Lakeland District Councillor for Mid Furness, Andrew Butcher, said the estate would cause "grief and misery" if allowed to go ahead.
He said: I am appalled by the housing plan submitted for 27 new houses at Cross-a-Moor on Pennington lane."
Cllr Butcher said he feared this small development would lead to greater expansion in the future.
He said: "If these houses do go ahead I feel that this will be the start of the big development behind Ulverston Road, we have finally learned not to build on or near floodplains to cause grief and misery to residents of houses nearby.
"When I go to meetings and hear about housing, the only thing I hear is it in the local plan. I was always brought up to understand that all good plans need to be altered as circumstances arise and I seriously feel that this is the case here."
Cllr Butcher said he also has fears over the volume of traffic potentially putting pupils at the nearby Pennington Nursery and CofE Primary School at risk.
He said: "We should also be looking forward to safeguarding our children on the roads. We do not need these houses or the amount that is planned for the future in Swarthmoor.
"This narrow lane has a nursery and school in close proximity to the site, there are cars parked most of the way down on one side and sometimes the odd one on both sides.
"Traffic has to negotiate the junction onto the A590, turning right to Barrow can cause even more congestion."
The Mail approached the applicant for comment but did not receive a response before this story went to publication.
Read more about planning in and around Ulverston:
Ulverston protesters fear new flats will attract 'unemployed single people with drug problems'
A phone mast set to be built in the heart of a housing estate has drawn fury from residents
"God help us" - a councillor warns against the danger of building on flood plains
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