Plans will devastate our community

I read the article on the front page of the August 19 issue “New business park planned near M69 amid traffic concerns” with a heavy heart.

As a resident of Stoney Stanton for nearly 40 years, I fear that all of the green spaces surrounding our village, so valued and cherished, are to be swallowed up by commercial and residential developments. I was particularly dismayed that the article was presented to us as a great advance during lockdown, because the opinion of the developers and their agents was presented before the concerns of the residents who will have to live with the lasting effects that this warehousing development would have locally.

Councillor David Bill accurately summarised the concerns of Stoney Stanton villagers not only about the already crippling amount of HGV traffic through the village but also about the huge amount of development that is being proposed for the environs of the village. The residents of Stoney Stanton now have an Action Group to make our feelings known about all of these proposals which will devastate our small rural village. We feel that preserving the surrounding countryside and areas of separation between local villages is of paramount importance for wellbeing and quality of life, far more so than being a convenient base in the golden triangle to house and distribute the nation’s goods. Anyone is very welcome to visit the Action Group website at stoneystanton.co.uk for up to date information and to register their support.

Diana Harrold