'We moved to one of the fastest-growing villages in Lancashire, and now feel forgotten'

Fed-up residents have slammed 'over-development' of their village, as housing estates shoot up in their droves across what was once open countryside.

In Cottam, a small village outside Preston, locals told LancsLive new housing developments are cropping up all the time. While it means many can benefit from affordable housing, new places to live and access to the motorway on the brand new M55 junction, Edith Rigby Way, some say enough is enough.

A rapidly swelling population has put an increasing strain on resources, locals fear, including shops, schools, dentists, doctors and other amenities.

And now Cottam's newest resident - those who have moved into one new development - say they feel like they have been forgotten, despite being required to pay heft maintenance fees for their estate.

A packed local park near Stratton Road has been causing issues, as dogs have been let off their lead near the children's play area.

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LancsLive understands that an incident occurred with a child and a small dog recently too. The main cause of this, residents say is the area is insufficiently cordoned, with no separation between the wider green space and the playground itself.

Developers Taylor Wimpey say the grounds were passed over to the maintenance company, RMG some time ago. However, we spoke with residents to see what their concerns are with the area.

One resident who wishes to remain anonymous, compared the Taylor Wimpey estate to another developer close-by owned by Wain Homes. She said: "If you go into that estate a bit further, they've got a little tiny playground, but they've got what it should be.

"There's metal railings around it, with the gate thing and they've got signs similar to our one. The sign is clear and there's no way anyone would try and go there with a dog.

"There's probably not as much open space on that estate, as our one but even despite that, that playground is as it should be."

The resident added: "What is frustrating, is we pay for all of that grounds upkeep, but every other week, something's been vandalised on that playground. There used to be a bin on that playground, the bin has been taken away because it's full of dog poo."

The development is all part of the City Deal, or Preston Masterplan, which sees 'attractive' residential developments and the provision of a main local centre in the heart of the area, being the focal point of the new and existing neighbourhoods. In Cottam, these developments are cropping up all the time, with various developers building on vacant land.

Sue lives across the road from the play area, but despite having two small children in her family, she wouldn't go and visit the spot. Sue said: "If there was absolutely zero dogs, then I would take them over, it doesn't bother me.

"There are times when there are just children playing on it but it's just full of dog poo. The thing is, they'll go on with these massive dogs, yeah they've got poo bags but you can't have your eyes on two dogs.

"On dog is here and the other is there. You've got a dog pooing and you're picking it up, but you've got no idea what the other dog's doing."

Sue says part of the park area has incomplete paths and small fencing on the side of the busy road, where dogs could easily jump over. However, the main issue is due to the fact the playground equipment is not separated from the rest of the space.

She added: "It should be that the park is cordoned off, like all the other parks are. If you go through Cottam, there are some lovely little parks with metal railings and they're all properly done, whereas this was kind of higgledy-piggledy, haywire.

"Then they put the bins right next to the picnic bench and they were absolutely spewing with dog poo. In the end, the residents just got sick of it and got rid of the bin themselves. They had to because it was just so disgusting."

Resident Emi says having children is the source of concern for many families nearby. He said: "I've got children, so when I take them to the park I don't just let them run and play freely. Nothing's happened to her, but she noticed a dog and started running back to me and she was scared because a dog was roaming free.

"I just feel like I want her to run free, but she's restricted so I always remember that and don't let them run free." Aside from this, Emi is happy with the development and amenities nearby, saying he hasn't had a problem with schooling or anything for his children.

Another resident, who does not wish to be named, lives close to the park and keeps a close eye on what goes on. She said: "People do use it, there's lots of dogs off their leads.

"There is a sign to say no dogs, but that is mainly just in the park area. There's not much of a distinguishing section. You say no dogs, but the dogs are on the field off their leads, so if a dog does run over it's quite difficult to maintain."

LancsLive have contacted RMG for comment.