South Warwickshire village torn apart by plans for affordable homes
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build eight affordable homes on a medieval ridge and furrow field in Cherington has divided the community.
While no villagers dispute the need for housing in Cherington and Stourton, the issue for some is the positioning of the site on an historic piece of land known as The Glebe.
Warwickshire Rural Housing Association (WRHA) has submitted its application for the affordable dwellings with Stratford District Council, and while villagers agree new houses will help the Cherington and Stourton community thrive, there are those who argue an alternative site should be considered to safeguard The Glebe which falls within the Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty.
At an extraordinary planning meeting of the joint parish council on Monday (27th March), opponents and supporters gathered in Cherington Village Hall to have their say on an issue which has split opinion ever since the landowner offered part of the field for development. Also present were representatives from WHRA. It’s development services manager, Neil Gilliver, told the Herald: “We are proposing to build a mix of eight affordable houses, bungalows and maisonettes, ranging from one bedroom to three-bedroom family homes. The number and mix of homes were identified through a housing needs survey and the local authority housing waiting list.
“The homes will provide an affordable housing option, for local people, enabling them to stay in the village, helping it to continue to thrive. Six of the homes will be for social rent (about 60 per cent of local market rent) and two for shared ownership – and all will be kept in perpetuity for people with a local connection.
“We’ve worked in collaboration with the parish council and community from an early stage and held a public consultation in 2020 to understand any concerns of the village. We’ve since spent a lot of time considering the concerns raised including heritage, landscape impact and drainage and our proposed plans have evolved to reflect this.
“The location of the site is the only available option in the village. The scheme design will be specifically tailored to the site and surroundings and the homes will be built using materials reflecting those already seen in the village, including Cotswold stone, slate roofs and timber window frames.”
Among the 70 or so villagers who attended the meeting on Monday was resident Simon Golton who objects to the plan. He said: “This sets a precedent. This is a medieval ridge and furrow piece of land protected by church covenant. To say this is just about The Glebe is rubbish. If this plan is approved it could happen anywhere on historic land.”
Former parish councillor, Henry Parker, feels so strongly about the issue he resigned because of it.
“This is a historic field and a unique landscape feature,” he said. “It is a significant part of a heritage site that would be developed for social housing. The parish council claims to represent our needs so I’d ask them to do just that, but I think they’ve already made up their minds and will support the application. We have launched an online petition which has got 389 signatures objecting to the proposal and that figure exceeds the combined population of the two villages.
“It’s not a good to place to build because it’s partly in flood zone 3 and we already have issues with a drainage system which regularly overflows, and we have had two serious floods which have put elderly people at risk of being isolated. No one objects to new housing but not on The Glebe site.”
One resident asked the parish council and WHRA if there was an alternative site? They were told there was, but it was outside the village boundary and considered unsuitable for the proposals.
Stratford district councillor, Sarah Whalley-Hoggins – whose parish includes Cherington and Stourton – reminded the meeting that the new housing would appeal to young people who otherwise couldn’t afford today’s house prices. She added that the homes would appeal to families who might want to bring an elderly relative closer to the village centre. The homes, she said, were very much needed in Cherington and Stourton to help the community thrive.
The determination date by Stratford District Council for the planning application is 24th April.
