Residents anger at greenbelt plans
A packed hall of residents condemned plans to build 1,750 houses on greenbelt land near Innsworth last night.
About 150 residents packed Longford Village Hall for an open session organised as part of a public inquiry into the proposals.
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The packed meeting at Longford Village Hall
George Sharpely, chairman of Twigworth Parish Council, spoke at the meeting and said he was concerned about flooding.
"The developers have assured us there would be a draining system called Suds, which is sustainable urban drainage system, but when Professor Cluckey was talking about that on the adjacent Longford development he said he was sceptical of its effectiveness in this area," he said.
The hall broke into applause when he added: "You will not be adding to the houses here with this development , you will be sinking the homes here already."
Planning inspector Christina Downes has been running the inquiry since July 7 into plans by Boddington-based developers Robert Hitchins to build the homes on green fields next to Dry Meadow Lane.
She organised last night's meeting to hear specifically from residents.
Helen Wells, of the Save The Countryside Campaign, said: "This application is in the greenbelt – that should be the end of it, it should be stopped now."
Christine Hunt, who is vice chairwoman of Innsworth Parish Council, said there were three main objections. She said: "This area is on the greenbelt and should not be built on, the fields around it are frequently under water and building houses will just make it worse, and traffic is an issue – Frog Furlong Lane is not suitable for the amount of traffic this will generate."
Resident Patrick Morrissey, who lives in Sandhurst, drew a laugh when he said: "We will get all the lovely water that comes from this development.
He added: "Will the developers indemnify all the houses in this area for the damage caused by the development and will they themselves offer insurance to people who buy the houses who find they can't get insured?"
The inquiry was triggered by Tewkesbury Borough Council's failure to decide on the scheme by April. It is expected to run for a further week with a decision from the inspector expected in mid September.
21 Comments
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by Paul, Innsworth
Monday, July 20 2009, 7:07AM
“Why was the meeting held in Longford, not Innsworth?
Why did the Councillor who is supposed to represent Innsworth not ask for this application to go before the planning committee before the time ran out?
None determination appeals 9 times out of 10 get approval, appeals against a planning committee refusal are more likely to be thrown out!
An appeal against a planning committee refusal might not have come forward so quickly, if this had been the case the indefensible RSS could not have been used to bolster the developers proposal as under a new Government this quango report will be thrown out.
Tewkesbury borough Council's local plan deleted Innsworth as a development site due to it's unsuitability. The barrister working for TBC put forward the Local Plan as the definitive document for planning decisions until 2012. That being the case why is tax payers money being wasted on an enquiry, oh yes i forgot this Government wants to build thousands of social housing, they haven,t got the cash to do it so they let developers do it and to hell with the consequences.
This development site can not go ahead unless Longford/Innsworth phase one site is given approval from the Secretary of State, still awaiting that decision, if it gets approval than unfortunately Innsworth phase two and three will go ahead and alas so will the proposals for Down Hatherly.”
by Lynn Gough, Longford
Thursday, July 16 2009, 8:58PM
“gb gloucester.
This is nothing to do with Longford Parish Council. We do agree that more homes/houses need to be built to hopefully kickstart the economy.
This issue is to do with Innsworth not Longford it was unfortunate the meeting was held in Longford but that was nothing to do with Longford Parish Council.
As YOU know I was flooded in 2007, so I as a resident not as a Parish Councillor will give my support to Innsworth as I certainly don't think I and the other residents do not want to go through the flooding again.”
by Steve, Gloucester
Thursday, July 16 2009, 8:40PM
“Hey "gb" and " big issue".
We all agree affordable new housing is needed but to build them near Longford would be stupid, unless you like being flooded every few years.
Take a look to your left or right next time you drive over Metz way. Derilict land, brown field land. Very conveniently placed for Gloucester and in real need of regeneration.
Surely somewhere like that is the place to build these much needed new afforable houses.”
by Chris, Gloucester
Thursday, July 16 2009, 8:30PM
“I can't see why this issue is even being debated, anyone with half a brain should realise this is not the place to build.
Ask any local who was around this area on July 20th 2007? Had these houses already been build residents would have needed an aqualung.
Besides it's green belt, that in itself should scupper the idea nevermind the flood risk.
Absolute lunacy!!!!”
by Pete Gough, Longford.
Thursday, July 16 2009, 7:22PM
“Here we go again!
2 years on from the July 2007 floods, the brooks in Longford are bank high again.
Flood issues are not taken seriously. A well respected hydrologist forecast the 2007 floods may become a regular occurance.
He stated flood preventative methods were unlikely to work efficently in this area.
I was helping the Police on the A38 at Longford in July 2007, when a report came through on the Police radio saying the floods were likely to get worse, as they were expecting a Dam in North Wales to be breached.”