Shipston Road homes and business park plan would add strain to Stratford's infrastructure
MORE homes and businesses could be built on the edge of Stratford in a “ridiculous” move that those opposed to the scheme fear will simply put extra strain on the town’s roads and services.
The proposals are for 238 new homes and a business park off Shipston Road, close to Waitrose.
While a traffic impact assessment concludes there will be “no significant impact on average journey times,” objectors disagree and believe the town – especially Clopton Bridge – cannot cope.
And that’s before the potential opening of a new zoo near Clifford Chambers - the All Things Wild proposals would add more traffic onto the road system should it get approval from Stratford District Council.
The full planning application for the homes and outline plans for the business park have been submitted by Bloor Homes for three hectares of land east of Shipston Road. The scheme would include a new roundabout – the third within a 200m stretch of road that is a key arterial route into town and subject to peak-time traffic congestion.
The application sparked a blunt reaction from one town and district councillor who called it “ridiculous” while another expressed serious concern about the strain it would put on existing services such as GPs, education, amenities and the town’s infrastructure, which already sees Clopton Bridge clogged with HGVs, transporters and cars every day and other streets congested.
In what’s described as a ‘hybrid application’ to Stratford District Council, the site combines homes and business use and is – at this stage – only a proposal with a determination date set for 21st October, but objections have already begun.
Cllr Kate Rolfe, town, district and county councillor for the neighbouring Tiddington ward, told the Herald: “This proposal is not in the Neighbourhood Plan or the Core Strategy and haven’t we already got our five-year housing supply?
“From a county councillor point of view, I’m also looking at the traffic and I think it’s ridiculous. How can we cope with more lorries over Clopton Bridge if the site includes a business use as well as houses? Then there’s the issue about putting in a new roundabout and what happens if All Things Wild goes ahead? I can’t see it working and the effect on the Waitrose junction would be extraordinary.”
Cllr Rolfe has objected to the application as have members of the public who have written to SDC voicing their concerns.
Roger Morris, from Clifford Chambers, wrote: “This planning application needs to be taken into consideration with the Cala Homes housing development at Long Martson Airfield, Airfield House at Long Martson Airfield, and All Things Wild at Willicote Farm. All three developments are concentrated on the B4632 which feeds onto the Waitrose roundabout on Shipston Road then Seven Meadows Road.
“Stratford District Council needs to decide if housing or theme parks are their priority and without the South-Western Relief Road how they propose to deal with the increases in traffic to ensure that traffic can still flow freely through the town.”
David Bishton, of Stratford, adds: “As a resident and construction consultant, this application is clearly both premature and basically flawed for not only planning but also arguments of national importance. The site is wholly within an area of high-grade agricultural land which must be retained for arable purposes especially given the current situation in respect of our reliance on overseas grain production.”
Cllr Ian Fradgley, who is the ward member for Bridgetown – where the application has been made – told the Herald: “We have been aware of a proposal for this land for quite some time and, in principle, I would object to it since we do not have a transport and services plan for south of the river.
“There is a lack of any substantive proposals about traffic and how it gets from south to north of Stratford and vice versa, and apparently there is no commitment to provide cycling solutions.”
He suggested an HGV ban on Clopton Bridge to improve safety for cyclists.
He added: “The proposal must include additional school places south of the river - particularly as 62 houses are to be built on the Banbury Road business park and will swallow up any existing school places south of the river.
“Then of course south of the river is currently in need of doctors and dentists, has anyone an agreement that the secondary school places are sufficient or will they also have to expand?
“This infrastructure plan must be agreed and implemented prior to any agreement to build more houses in Stratford itself.”
A variety of homes are proposed, including detached and semi-detached, and are described as having good links to Stratford and the nearby Recreation Ground.
Part of the application includes a assessment by Cotswold Transport Planning which concludes: “A review of the local highway network and collision data in the vicinity of the site indicates there are no problems in relation to the current operation or safety of the local highway and as such there no significant highways and transport matters that would preclude Warwickshire County Council from recommending approval of this planning application.”
Stratford Town Council says it “strongly objects to the principle of the application as the site is currently not allocated in the adopted core strategy or neighbourhood plan.”
