HAULIER Tony Knowles is facing a barrage of complaints from residents opposed to expansion of his grain store in Wimblington.

Mr Knowles wants to build a 2,400 square metre extension and create a reservoir on the Manea Road site.

Residents claim he failed to complete the first phase properly, the site is an eyesore and that promised landscaping and screening never materialised.

Fifteen neighbours bombarded Fenland District Council with objections and sent two large files outlining the background history.

The only crumb of comfort for Mr Knowles is from Wimblington Parish Council which said the application will improve the area.

“The council was concerned over drainage and traffic issues but feel that the highway authority and environment agency and Middle Level are better qualified to resolve any contentious issues,” they said in a report to Fenland Council.

However Cambridgeshire County Council is opposed to the scheme and Fenland Council Planning Committee will be recommended to reject the proposals because of highway issues.

The county council says Mr Knowles’ agents have plotted visibility splays incorrectly and that a high proportion of traffic using a proposed new access will be heavy and slow moving and will therefore take time to complete turning manoeuvres.

The county council says Mr Knowles has also not made proper provision for lorries parked on the site and that assumptions have wrongly been made about possible speed limit changes.

Fenland planners say that in addition to lack of promised landscaping no security fencing has been installed.

“Whilst some hard core has been laid within the site, the access works of the earlier proposals have not been implemented,” says a report. “The surfacing is largely unfinished, this is particularly apparent around the access point to the site which is pot holed and poorly defined.”