Parish meeting to discuss Borough Plan - 6^th October at William Sutton Centre

At a meeting attended by about 20 people, the Borough Council's development plan for the next 20 years was discussed. Most of discussion centred on the plan to allow the building of an additional 2,200 houses in the area between Castletown, Doxey and the Castle.

The main concern was that if the houses had to be built, and not everyone was convinced they all had to be, the road system should be put in place ahead of any building. The existing road from Castletown is already very busy during rush hours with traffic from outlying villages such as Seighford, Haughton and Gnosall as well as Doxey. If the road is blocked for any reason the emergency services cannot react to accidents on the M6 in the minimum acceptable time.

The draft Borough Plan states that “Development west of Stafford will need the Western Access Improvement Scheme to be delivered between Martin Drive and Doxey Road with associated junction improvements due to lack of local road network connections”. This was emphasised by our Parish Councillors, our two Borough Councillors (Peter Goodland and Isabella Davies), our County Councillor, Mark Winnington and James Cantrill representing our MP Jeremy Lefroy.

The 'zoning' of some areas for housing/employment raised some concerns :

• The Saint-Gobain (Universal) Carpark for housing seems unwise given the proximity of the railway and the danger of flooding.

• The development of the Stafford Rugby Club's pitches for 'employment' would result in the loss of much needed recreation space and the blocking of an essential 'green lung'.

• Allocating the Castle Works site for housing and the rugby pitches for employment seems perverse.

At the end of meeting the chairman Nigel Barnett asked everyone who had concerns to write/email to the Borough with copies to the Parish Council.

A booklet is available from the Borough Council

Comments can be made (by 21^st October)

    online:     http://staffordbc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/

    email :    forwardplanning@staffordbc.gov.uk

    write :      Forward Planning
                    Civic Centre
                    Riverside
                    Stafford
                    ST16 3AQ

Further details of the Plan can be found at http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/ldf

The Current Road Plans can be found (in great detail) at the County Council Website (click here)

A new draft plan has been published for Stafford Borough.

In it are proposals for building over 5,500 new houses in sites to the North , East and West of Stafford.

The plan for Western Stafford will have huge implications for Doxey.

The main proposal is to allow 2,200 houses to be built with 'retail facilities, a primary school, a library service, health facilities and public open space'. In addition there will be additional business space to create new jobs.

The area involved (see Map below) is almost all the remaining open space between Doxey, Castletown, Castlefields, Stafford Golf Club and the M6. It includes :

• The current Saint-Gobain works and car park
• The Castle Works site
• The land between Doxey and the Greenway
• The land south of the Greenway stretching to the new Stafford Castle Golf Club (currently being re-built to surround Stafford Castle)
• The area occupied by Stafford Rugby Club adjoining Kingsway

The plan will be going out for consultation during September and October. We will be invited to comment.

In total the proposals provide for an extra 7,000 houses in Stafford Borough these would be split

• 2,200 in Doxey,Castlefields
• 2,700 to the north of Beaconside from the A34 to the MOD site near Sandon Road
• 600 on the East of Stafford between the University , the Crematorium and St Thomas' Lane
• 500 in Stone
• 1,500 in rural areas (adjoining Seighford, Eccleshall etc)

Where can you see the plans ?

Currently (20th Sept) the plans are described on the Stafford Borough website :
http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/ldf

see under Consultation September 2011

A summary of the plans has been published as a booklet which should be generally available. The procedure for making comments will be made clear.

The plans raise some interesting points

• The development seems to depend on the construction of a road link from Martin Drive on Castlefields to Doxey Road. This was part of the Western Access Improvement Scheme which seemed to have been dropped. The current road from Doxey to the town centre could not cope.
• The existing water supply and sewerage facilities will need to be substantially enhanced.
• The area allocated for 'Employment' is the site of the rugby pitches while the exiting Castle Works area is designated for 'Housing'. This seems very strange.

Notes

• The plan is only a draft, it may well be dropped or have major changes.

• The plan is for a 20 year period (until 2031).
  

• Many of the proposals originally included in the last plan (20 years ago) were dropped or amended.

• It is up to residents and parish councils to make their views clear.

(click on map for larger version)

The beige coloured areas are allocated to 'Housing' including services and associated open space.
The blue areas are for 'Employment' (offices, warehouse workshops etc)

The dark red roads are part the proposed new Western Access Route on which the Development plans seem to depend. The lighter red roads are the links to existing roads. (nb. the line of the roads within the new development have not been decided)

Note  - This map is NOT OFFICIAL – it is only our understanding of the areas affected and possible road lines.