Stratford Riverside Project exhibition will take place on Friday

AN exhibition detailing the latest plans for the Riverside Project will be held this week at a Stratford hotel.

The controversial scheme, which has sparked protests and concern, involves a stretch of land from Fisherman’s car park on Warwick Road to the former tip site close to the leisure centre as well as land opposite the Crowne Plaza hotel.

The project, which is promoted by Stratford District Council and Stratford Town Trust, includes an extended car park, new paths and cycle paths, toilets, new bridges to provide better access, planting schemes, ponds and picnic areas.

The overall aim is to create a local nature reserve, but campaigners say the current scheme would create too much human intrusion and would impact wildlife.

There are also concerns about disturbing the land covering the old Stratford tip and whether that poses a risk to walkers and nearby residents.

An environmental report, following the drilling of boreholes, concluded the risks were low.

The council and the trust say the land has been unmanaged for years and the scheme would provide a well-managed area for wildlife and humans.

The planning application for the project was resubmitted on 1st October following additional contamination and ground water testing at the site.

The exhibition will be a chance to discuss the findings – and all other aspects of the project.

It takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Friday (15th October), 11am-7pm.

Members of the public who would like to ask questions relating to specific aspects of the scheme, can attend at the following times:

11am-14pm: Project Management

12pm-3pm: Landscape Design

3pm-6pm: Ecology

5pm-7pm: Project Management

Tony Perks, deputy chief executive at the district council, said: “As part of an ongoing consultation process, we hope as many people as possible will come along to the public exhibition so they can find out about the latest developments and talk to the project team directly.”