Council furious over plans (From Stroud News and Journal)

Council furious over plans

FURIOUS civic leaders have described a proposed housing development as 'the worst in over a decade'.

Stroud Town Council has urged Sheepscombe-based Woodchester Commercial Investments to take its plans for 75 homes on the edge of the picturesque Slad Valley back to the drawing board.

But the company has hit back, saying it has done everything by the book and in consultation with district planners.

The council has presented a record number of objections to Ebley Mill and is inviting residents to join its campaign against the development of the former Lansdown Kennels.

The meeting takes place tonight, Wednesday, March 2 at 7.30pm at the Old Town Hall in The Shambles.

Cllr Andy Read, chairman of the town council's planning applications committee, said councillors had attended an urgent meeting with Ebley Mill officials to discuss their many concerns.

"We are happy that we've had the chance to stress what an appalling application this is," he said.

"This scheme will have a major effect of hundreds of existing residents and this is a chance to them to find out more, get angry and make some noise.

"We want planners to have no doubt that people in Stroud think this scheme is totally unacceptable."

In addition to the number of buildings and their design, the town council is greatly concerned about the effect of any extra traffic on Slad Road, which it claims is already dangerously congested.

It is also strongly objecting to any development on the upper slopes of the steep site which it claims are visible from the adjoining AONB and provide an important wildlife habitat for deer and badgers.

Gerry Walsh, managing director of Woodchester Commercial Investments, argued the site was not important for wildlife and the badger set there would be dealt with under proper guidance from experts.

He accepted the application had been put in hastily but said the submission of plans for the neighbouring Express Dairy site had forced his hand. "The whole thing should be judged as one scheme," he said.

"We've been trying to bring this forward for six years and a lot of work has been done looking at the engineering.

"The elevation details we knew would be very much indicative and we expected to sit down with the senior planning officer and go through all that.

"But we're surprised with the concern about the density which is within Government guidelines."

He said the additional cost put on developers by the local authority's affordable housing quotas meant this level of density was now the norm.

Mr Walsh said he did not dispute the development would create more traffic and the hillside homes would be visible from the AONB, but argued this was bound to be the case when houses were built and the land was earmarked for residential development.

He said he had no plans to attend the town council's meeting but would consider going if invited.