|
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT
FRAMEWORK
Stafford Borough
Council is currently preparing a Local Development Framework to comply
with Central Government's Regional Development Plan. This will
eventually replace the Stafford Borough Local Plan 2001, which is the
current basis of planning decisions.
The Regional Plan
requires the identification of land for 10,3000 new homes in Stafford
Borough by 2026, 7,000 of these being within Stafford Town, an
employment provision of 40 hectares to be available every 5 years, a
retail requirement of 50,000 sq metres, office accommodation of 45,000
sq metres and proposals for new transport schemes. The implication of
these proposals is enormous. The requirement for new homes means that
more new homes will be required than the entire number of homes already
in Stone. Even if the majority of these properties, together with
employment and retail provision, are located in Stafford and Stone,
there will still be considerable pressure for more development in more
rural areas outside these two towns.
It has been
reported in the press that David Kidney said that Stafford Borough
Council had volunteered to accept this additional development, but at
meetings attended by Eccleshall Parish Councillors, the impression was
given that this enormous expansion of development was imposed on the
Borough. Nevertheless, this imposition of so much building work by
Central Government within the Borough Council's area could have very
serious consequences for Eccleshall and the local infrastructure.
Extensive
consultation has already taken place by eth Borough Council. This has
been through the Council's consultation portal at as
well as
http://staffordbc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal
articles and advertisements in the local press. This has so far included
the following topics:-
-
Principles
for Settlement Development
-
Strategic
Housing Land Availability Assessment
-
Settlement
Assessment of Services and Facilities
-
The Plan for
Stafford Borough - Borough Wide Development Strategy
-
Sustainability Scoping Report
Initial findings
have already been published which will form the basis for the future
development of the plan. As reported in the local press, with regard to
the identification of suitable towns and villages for future
development, the Council has used a points scoring system to measure the
facilities available in each village. This identified Gnosall as the
most suitable village throughout the Borough for more dwellings with
Eccleshall a close second.
Eccleshall Parish
Council has made comments at every stage of the consultation up to now.
Their submission to the most recent element of the consultation was to
submit the following comments:-
-
Eccleshall
Parish Council agrees that there is a range of settlements with
locally distinctive characteristics. In Eccleshall, the Parish
Council believes that the Town Design Statement prepared by the
local community should form an influential basis for the design
principles of future development to maintain the architectural
qualities of the town.
-
Eccleshall
Parish Council agrees Stafford and Stone should be considered to be
principal and secondary settlements within Stafford Borough but
accepts that some development in Eccleshall would be beneficial for
the maintenance of the established services and facilities in the
town.
-
Eccleshall
Parish Council believes that some minor development would be
appropriate in Croxton to maintain the existing amenities and
services in the village, as this village serves a large hinterland
between Eccleshall and Loggerheads. Appropriate foul drainage would
obviously be necessary. This would add Croxton to Group 3.
The Parish
Council's support for additional development in the town, within the
parameters suggested , is the view of the majority of the Councillors.
However, the consultation process is open for comments from anyone,
whether they agree with the Parish Council's view or not. None of the
consultation topics are open for comment at the moment, but previous
responses can still be viewed on the web site. Future topics will be
forthcoming as the development of the plan proceeds.
The Borough Council is currently preparing a list of suggested sites for
development which will be put forward for comment. It is possible that
you will be affected by these proposals, especially if you live on the
edge of the town. This may well be the catalyst for you to take an
interest and respond, because without comments, the planners will have
their way without change
|
