Objections to affordable homes plan located in the Green Belt

A PARISH council has hit out at plans to build affordable houses on what has been described as green belt land.

A planning application has been submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council for up to four new homes with associated access, landscaping and servicing on land off

Clewlows Bank, Bagnall.

However, Bagnall Parish Council has objected to the plan on the following grounds:

The proposed development is upon designated green belt land;

There is no identified need for affordable homes within Bagnall parish;

The scale of the development is an over development of the site and does not fit with the parish council’s plan to see modest, incremental development of infill sites;

The nature of affordable housing suggests that properties are purchased by people less likely to own a vehicle;

The village is served by only two buses a day, which are not conveniently timed for those in employment or education and is not in easy walking distance to local shops and amenities;

If potential residents did own a vehicle, the development would create an increase in traffic flow onto Clewlows Bank which would cause a major hazard;

The impact on the skyline as viewed from Stanley Pool would be significantly adversely impacted and would not be in keeping with the character of the area.

A planning statement submitted on behalf of the applicants, M G and S M Holden by Hunter Architects & Planners, said: “The site is bounded by a drystone wall along the western boundary, separating the site from the pavement and road, and with fences and natural features for the remaining boundaries.

“There is a variety of residential dwellings of varying ages in the immediate area and Bagnall village. They have mixed facades, generally in either brick or render with tiled pitched roofs.

“The site is located a short distance away from the recognised settlement boundaries of Stanley Moor and Bagnall.

“The site is located within Green Belt, but it is not within a Conservation Area or any other special Local Plan designation.

“No new access is proposed to a public highway.”

A decision is expected by planners within the next six weeks.