Whitminster opposes 2,500 new houses – Whitminster Parish Council

Objecting to Local Plan changes for further housing development in Whitminster

Parish Council formal response to the Local Plan consultation.

The Parish Council engaged an external consultant to professionally produce and collate the Council’s objections into a structured argument, and the following objections were submitted by Whitminster Parish Council to the Local Plan consultation for the newly proposed sites within Whitminster;

Any queries or comments on the Parish Council arguments within these documents should be address to the Parish clerk, or brought up on the next planned Parish Council meeting (usually 1st Wednesday of the month, currently via zoom & advertised on the Whitminster Facebook group and on village noticeboards)

The consultation has now closed, however the guidance the Parish Council produced for Parishioners to respond is still reproduced below for reference;

Whitminster Parish Council objects to the proposed 2,500 housing development along Grove Lane. If you are a Whitminster resident and wish to object, this sets out how to object, and the underlying reasons why which you may wish to refer to or paraphrase

The Survey closes on Wednesday 16th December and your response must be submitted by then.

You have two options;

THE QUICK AND EASY RESPONSE OPTION:

- If you want to quickly register your objection to massive development in Whitminster, please click here to send an email to local.plan@stroud.gov.uk with your objections (and include confirmation that you’re a resident of Whitminster village and stating that you;
  - - object to development of site WHI012 (Land South of Hyde Lane, Whitminster) which is well outside the existing development boundary and is served by an undrained single lane road that cannot support twenty houses.
    - object to development of PGP1 (Land at Grove End Farm) for up to 2,250 houses as (see below) it will destroy the local character of Whitminster village and extend urban sprawl from Stroud through to Whitminster.
- Please ensure you personalise the email (wording, name, objections) so that it’s not dismissed as an automatic objection

If you want to provide detailed feedback on the Stroud District Local Plan then complete the online questionnaire here using the Parish response below as a guide.

Development proposals

There are two sites submitted late to the Local Plan process for Whitminster which the Parish Council has objected to;

The (WHI012) Hyde Lane site is opposed as it’s well outside the village Development Boundary, and would cause significant traffic problems as Hyde Lane is a single carriageway with no opportunity for widening.

Development here would encourage future developers to attempt to ‘backfill’ future development and significantly expand the village.

The Grove Lane site is opposed for several reasons;

Grove End Farm Consultation Responses.

Landscape. The development, as proposed by the promoter, would cause the village to become an urban sprawl, intruding massively into the countryside, and the Severn Vale in particular. Widespread open views across the Severn Vale, from adjacent high ground would be completely changed from rural to suburban. The appreciation of these views would be lost forever. Loss of ancient hedges and trees.
Environment. The loss of green open space, in particular loss of Public Rights of Way through open countryside, would be detrimental to the general health and wellbeing of members of the public, currently able to enjoy fresh air while out walking. Soil, trees and grassland are huge stores of carbon. Removal of these stores across the sites as proposed would do nothing towards the SDC aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. In addition, pollution caused by emissions from all the extra vehicles from the development, would not help clean air aims. Loss of habitat to existing wildlife, birds of prey, bats, small reptiles.
Traffic, Transport and Highways. Grove Lane is a recognised cycling route. All the extra traffic from this development along the Lane would have a severe impact on this route. Junctions 12 and 13 of the M5 are at, or near capacity, as recognised in the Forest Green Rovers Stadium application. Extra vehicular movements to and from the M5 from this proposal would heavily overload the already depleted capacity. Similarly, the scale of the proposal would have huge detrimental effects on the local road network, including the A38 main Bristol to Gloucester road. Adequate public transport to nearby railway stations, shopping centres and local administration offices is practically non-existent, thereby putting even more strain on overcrowded local roads.
Site Constraints. The high pressure gas main running south to north through the whole of the site, The Gas Governor station in Grove Lane, where a branch main to Stonehouse leads off. 2 high pressure water mains traversing both sites, one adjacent to the motorway fence all through, the other crosses from the M5 through fields behind Attwoolls, then on to the Whitminster Inn orchard, across the field to the Grove Lane bus stop, onwards behind the houses on the A38 to the roundabout junction with the A419. Possibility of land contamination caused when spoil from the excavated Stroudwater canal was dumped within the site in the mid 1960s. Similarly, contamination caused by made-up ground when the M5 was built. The effect on the Listed Building, The Olde Forge. Pluvial flooding occurring within the northern end of the site.
Finally – the multi-million investment to regenerate the Stroudwater Canal and the new resulting tourism opportunities will be money lost if the new canal passes through a new housing estate, instead of the picturesque village of Whitminster.

Submitting a Local Plan survey response to Stroud District

If you choose to submit a survey response to Stroud District, there are various options you need to consider in your response (not all responses are required, they can be left blank);

First page – provide your contact information and ensure you chose ‘Severn Vale’ as your area.
Second Page – Support or Object to ‘Intensify’. We recommend Intensify to ensure development stays in existing built-up areas
Intensify: The necessary infrastructure for growth is already present in built-up areas and the roads and facilities are designed to accommodate high volumes of traffic.
Second Page – Support or Object to Option B ‘Towns and Villages’. We recommend Object to ensure development is kept out of Whitminster
Object: Brownfield sites in existing built-up areas should be used before development on greenfield sites in villages.
Second Page – Support or Object to Option C “Additional Growth Point’. We recommend Object to ensure 2,5000 houses are not built in Whitminster
Object: massive developments encroaching on villages will destroy green spaces and the character of the surrounding villages and towns.
Second Page: Support or object to Option D ‘Wider Dispersal’. We recommend Support
Support: Support Parish and Town Council decisions on infill development sites, and respect local democracy.
Second Page: Support or Object to a hybrid approach: We recommend Object
Object: These options cannot be combined, the decisions of local Town and Parish Councils must be respected…
Fourth Page: Do you Support or Object to WHI012 Land south of Whitminster. We recommend Object
Object: This is a site well outside the existing development boundary accessed by an undrained single lane road that cannot sustain traffic from a development of this size.
Fifth Page: Do you Support or Object to PGP1` (Land at Grove End Farm) for up to 2,500 houses. We recommend Object
Object: Adjacent development at Great Oldbury and the Football Stadium will already impact the nature of Whitminster village, and a further development on this scale will completely eradicate the village nature of Whitminster.
Please don’t forget to submit the survey!