Lyndale Terrace
The 6 properties that make up Lyndale Terrace can now be found almost opposite the village hall on the Old Road at Cold Elm. The land that the terrace now stands on (Plot No 296) previously belonged to Elm House (Plot No 302), where ‘Traces of Paving’ can be seen on the following plan.
OS 25”, 1st Edition, 1844-1888
On 17 April and 20 July 1953 the Gloucestershire County Council, Local Planning authority, received two planning applications to develop land at Norton into housing. The first application was to erect 8 houses on the piece of land between School House and Old Lane Cottage, outlined in red on the following plan. The second was to erect a total of 14 houses, 8 on the red area and 6 on the blue, just to the north of Elm House.
The first application was revoked in total, the land being “outside the area which the Local Planning Authority now consider to be appropriate for the future development of Norton and its development in accordance with the permission would extend a ribbon of houses along a road leading out of the village”. The second application was modified to allow just the 6 houses at Cold Elm.
The planning application caused much consternation in the Shire Hall, Gloucester, and discussions made the local press at the time. The following account was published in The Citizen newspaper of 2 December 1964 under the headline 'Building on Norton picnic spot ?';
"Development which might be 'out on a limb to services' was not desired by his council in Norton, RDC engineer and surveyor Mr J S Hopkins told a local inquiry in the Shire Hall yesterday. He was speaking on behalf of the County Council, at what the Ministry Inspector, Mr J L Wetton, termed a 'rather curious inquiry' into an order submitted by the County Council for the revocations of planning permissions granted for the erection of eight dwellings on land at Norton, and a planning appeal by P F Dale & Co Ltd, arising from the failure of the council to give a decision within the statutory period on an application for the approval of detailed plans for their erection. For a number of years, Mr Hopkins said, considerable pressure had been maintained by his council upon the county planning officer to obtain a village plan for Norton, so that a drainage system could be constructed and the land developed for housing. Due to the small number of houses it was unlikely that a drainage scheme would be put in until the land had been allocated for development, but when it had, it seemed likely that a large increase in population might take place. The construction of houses in this area would have an effect on the main drainage system anticipated once the village plan was prepared and at present, said Mr Hopkins, they did not know whether the inclusion of the new houses proposed by Mr Dale would result in the selection of a different drainage area from that which would otherwise be the best and cheapest. 'We do not wish for odd limbs of services to spread out from what could be v compact are', he said. He agreed that his council had given by-law approval to the sewerage scheme submitted by the developers but added that if a mains drainage scheme was imminent, they would not welcome the adoption of another small sewage works. Mr D Leigh, assistant clerk to the County Council, said that in April 1953 planning permission had been given to build eight houses on the appeal site - land fronting the Gloucester to Tewkesbury Road at The Chestnuts, Cold Elm, Norton. In July 1953 a further application was approved giving permission for the erection of 14 houses on two separate sites, one of which was the appeal site. The permission regarding the development of both these sites was considered early this year when it was decided that a Revocation Order should be made in respect of the appeal site, and that there should be a modification of the second, so that six of the fourteen houses would be permitted. It was the intention to prepare a village plan for Norton, and to allow the building on the appeal site would, they felt, seriously inhibit the proper consideration of this plan. It would also, commented Mr Leigh, seem to be almost a form of ribbon development. Mr M A Carter, area planning officer, said that when plans for the development of the village were prepared, from its relation to existing development, the site seemed unlikely to be included in such development. It would therefore be an addition to an existing ribbon development extending out of the village. If the site was developed then it would fix at least part of the development boundary and the RDC would be obliged to extend the sewerage scheme to include the appeal site. Mr Eric Holt, chief assistant pollution prevention officer of the Severn River Board, said that in a resolution passed by the board recently, it opposed in general, provision of separate treatment plants by individual developers. Development of this kind should only be permitted in circumstances where the planning authority was satisfied that the treatment of the plan would be adequately maintained in the future - which, in their opinion, could only be achieved by transfer of responsibility to the local sewage authority. Mr Brian Tait, for the appellant, said that permission to build should have been turned down at the beginning if the planning authority felt strongly that the drainage was wrong. Mr Dale of P F Dale & Co, was a builder, living at Norton and was the prospective purchaser of the site from Mr J Ballinger, owner of Chestnuts Farm. The site in question was the summer picnic spot of the thousands of people travelling on the A38, who not only used the field to eat in, but as a public convenience. There was congestion of parking in the summer all day and half the night, Mr Tait added. Most of the village was in favour of development and there were several young couples waiting for houses before they could get married, so that they would not have to leave the village. His client, he said, was prepared to put in a village installation which would not only serve the new houses on the site but which would include the village hall, the school, and other houses in the area. They would be improving conditions, if only for for a short time. Summing up, Mr Leigh said that in the village plan Norton would presumably provide for considerable expansion and they had to consider not only the form of that expansion but how it was going to relate to the important public service of the provision of sewers. To allow the plan to be worked out properly required that in considering both sewage and planning, proposals should 'not be committed from the roadside'. The River Boards policy concerning small sewage plants was known and there was no assurance in this case that the sewage plant would be adopted and looked after by the local authority. After the hearing was ended, the inspector went to look at the site. The Minister's decision will be made known at a later date".
On 16 August 1964 Gloucestershire County Council approved the second application and on 13 January 1965 the Minister of Housing and Local Government confirmed the approval.
This site was sold for development in 1965 and was built on by local builder Percy Dale who named it after his wife Evelyn.
Francis Percival (Percy) Dale was born in 1919 and married Evelyn Beatrice Jones, born 1920, at St Pauls, Gloucester, in 1946. In 1985 they were living at Rosemullion, Old Tewkesbury Road. They have since both died, 1997 and 1988 respectively, and have a memorial in the churchyard at St Mary’s, Norton.
I have very brief details of the residents of the terrace since it was built.
Nos 1 & 2 Lyndale Terrace, photographed by Bryan Welch in 2000
1985. No 1, Douglas & Marion Stephens; No 2, David & Ann Donnelly.
No 2 was marketed by Anthony Hickman, Gloucester, in September 1993 at £67,950; "semi rural location is where you find this 3 bedroom home boasting large garden, lounge/diner, conservatory and a garage".
2002. No 1, Douglas & Marion Stephens; No 2, Robert, Beverley and Craig Edgecombe.
Nos 3 & 4 Lyndale Terrace, photographed by Bryan Welch in 2000
1985. No 3, Mary Underhay; No 4, Margaret Hanson. Mary Underhay died on 6 October 1986.
1992. No 4, Robert & Claire Gamston.
2002. No 3, Paul & Sheila Smith and Gemma Bryan; No 4, Robert & Claire Gamston.
Nos 5 & 6 Lyndale Terrace, photographed by Bryan Welch in 2000
1985. No 5, Geoff & Bessie Price and Margaret Walker; No 6, George & Ruth Rawson.
No 6 was marketed by Anthony Hickman, Gloucester, in November 1991 at £73,950; "a modern end terraced 3 bedroom property benefitting from 1/2 reception rooms, cloakroom, double glazing, conservatory, garage and large gardens".
2002. No 5, Arthur & Margaret Walker and Geoff Price; No 6, Wayne Kirby and Sara Graves.
