There is no right of appeal for us villagers

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough has been swamped with complaints from Stoke Golding residents after the council’s planning committee approved an application from Glenalmond Developments for the construction of 65 houses on green belt land on the edge of the village. In total, the council received 46 complaints about the meeting and the conduct of individual councillors during the meeting.

Some 375 villagers tuned into the planning committee meeting on December 8 to listen to proceedings via a You Tube link, but were incensed when Lib Dem members of the Committee voted en bloc to approve the application with little or no consideration of the evidence that had been presented to them by the village community. The application had generated over 400 objections from local residents but the developer had failed to consult with any village representatives or the community in general.

The decision flew in the face of Liberal Democrat pledges to protect green spaces within the borough and led many to question whether those voting in favour were properly representing the interests of the local community.

Both Labour and Conservative committee representatives all opposed the approval.

Salt was further rubbed into residents’ wounds when at the same meeting the committee refused a similar application for 120 houses at Ashfield Farm, Desford, on grounds nearly identical to the objections that had made to the Stoke Golding application.

Desford is located in a ward represented by Liberal Democrat members; Stoke Golding is part of a Tory held ward. Chair of the planning committee is Councillor Joyce Crooks, who is a member for Newbold Verdon with Desford and Peckleton.

Steve Martin, chair of the Friends of the Community group, which coordinated the opposition to the Roseway, commented: “The decision is a real kick in the teeth for the local community who were near unanimous in their opposition.

“There were some very positive comments from some councillors about the quality of the objection we put together but, in the end, it counted for nothing. It just shows how little influence the local community has on planning matters.”

Local resident and fellow member of the Friends of the Community Group, Jacquelyn Jones, said: “The system seems to be stacked against those who are most impacted by these decisions and there is little we can do as a community if our local representatives refuse to stand up to bullying developers.

“This decision is especially disappointing given that the Liberal Democrats

claim as a party to be the defenders of villages and their green spaces.”

From my perspective and that of most other Stoke Golding residents, the frustrating thing is that the community appears to have nowhere else to go in opposing this development.

Had the application been refused, the developer could have appealed the decision but there is no similar right of appeal for the community.

We are stuck with a decision made by a group of politicians who have no interest in Stoke Golding.

None of those who voted to approve the application had even bothered to visit the site yet they feel able to play politics with people’s lives.

I hope for the sake of other village communities that the council’s Liberal Democrat councillors start to recognise they have a responsibility to represent all members of the community.

Nick Robinson, Stoke Golding resident and former Lib Dem voter