Stratford residents claim new homes are in breach of planning permission
ANGRY residents in Stratford’s Old Town say a new housing development on the old Territorial Army centre site is ‘nothing like’ what they were promised.
People living in the conservation area of New Broad Street, Broad Walk and West Street say they’re under siege from constant noise, dust and disruption, thanks to ongoing building work at Castle Homes’ new luxury housing development, Yeomanry Mews.
Since temporary access to the site from Seven Meadows Road closed in July, they said their narrow street is often blocked by trucks and road rollers from 7.15am to 9pm.
They are also fed up with site workers knocking on their doors, asking them to move their cars.
The Herald has seen video footage of trucks and road rollers mounting the pavement, including a road roller being driven along a pavement and around a blind corner.
And in another case, a large truck can be seen left unattended for 15 minutes, with keys in the ignition and the driver’s side door wide open.
But what has made residents most angry is, they say, that what was agreed before the build began, has not been honoured. And they claim some of the new houses are in breach of the plans approved by Stratford District Council.
Residents are also unhappy that the section of New Broad Street where the new houses have been built is being made a private road, despite assurances it would be public. And they say they were led to believe there would be a turning circle added, but this has not materialised.
And on top of this, they say extra strain on the Victorian single drain sewage system is causing a terrible stench for existing residents – though not for those living in the new houses.
Jenni Ferguson, 69, who lives in Broad Walk, on the corner of New Broad Street, told the Herald: “The new buildings were meant to be built as two-storey, to balance with the rest of the conservation area, which are all the old Victorian houses but instead they’ve built them with an extra storey on top,” she said. “We’ve got this dominating, technically four-storey building and where there should have been two-storey we’ve got three-storey buildings – it’s oversized and complete and utter smoke and mirrors.”
She added: “Nothing is anything like what was agreed with the community, or what the community was expecting.”
Patsi Spicer, 74, who has lived in New Broad Street for 40 years, said that because some of the new homes were moved further back from the road, her garden is now completely overlooked.
She said: “We embraced the idea of a development but there were certain things that we knew were a problem so we said we’re okay with this, but could we please have the road continuing through with a turn-around area, so the bottleneck won't be outside the houses at the bottom anymore.
“Not only have we not got that but we’ve now got 10 more houses discharging another 20-plus cars onto what was already an overburdened road.”
She added: “I could sit in my garden in a bikini if I wanted and nobody could see me but now there isn’t one area in my garden that I can sit and not be visible [to the new houses].
“Every part of my beautiful garden, that is my life, is overlooked.”
Castle Homes, which bought the land from the Ministry of Defence, has built seven houses and three apartments on the site.
The homes, some costing more than £1m, are being marketed by Knight Frank and it is believed all are now sold, except two one-bedroom apartments.
An e-mail from SDC planning department, sent to one of the residents and seen by the Herald, reveals that ‘in liaising with the enforcement team... it has become apparent that the alleged breaches in respect of plots two and seven had been overlooked’ and there is an apology.
The e-mail also confirms an enforcement officer has written to the developer Castle Home to ‘seek to resolve the matter’ as well as others raised.
A spokesperson for Stratford District Council said: “After consulting with the officers, as this is an ongoing enforcement investigation, the council cannot comment further at this time.”
A spokesperson for Castle Homes said: “Following the closure of the temporary construction access off Seven Meadows Road, we are working towards a completion date in the very near future.
“The temporary access road was created by Castle Homes of Warwick to alleviate as much disruption as possible for the local residents.
“We would like to thank the vast majority of local residents for their patience and understanding whilst building housing on this brownfield site in the Old Town of Stratford.
“We have also supported the local community as much as possible through our corporate social responsibility activities, which has included the construction of a much-needed disabled access pathway for Stratford Primary School.”
