Fears over more housing in village where residents face 'a foot of sewage in the street'
Summary
Plans for 60 homes in a Cotswold village where residents face “a foot of sewage in the street” have been deferred amid infrastructure and highways concerns. The Diocese of Gloucester’s wants to develop more than 8.2 acres of agricultural fields east of Willersey Business Park.
Details
The Cotswold District Council planning committee heard serious concerns about sewage infrastructure in the village and how the proposal posed a risk to highways safety at their meeting on June 10. Alastair McGrigor, an objector who spoke at the meeting, said Severn Trent Water has accepted the infrastructure is inadequate for the current houses.
“We understand Severn Trent have an obligation to connect but the reality is such a situation dooms a substantial part of the village to sewage running down their street, manhole covers being forced off and excrement flooding into their gardens,” he said.
He said there is a solution to the problem and that is to follow grampian conditions applied at Folly View which dictates that upgrades should be sorted out and agreed prior to occupation. Mr McGrigor told the meeting he was pleased the officer had recommended those conditions.
Related stories
And ward councillor Tom Stowe (C, Campden and Vale) said the village is suffering from a “totally broken drainage system with no credible plan for resolution”. He said the concerns around the development stem from future development which would make the current infrastructure issues worse.
“We are talking about sewage a foot deep in the street, gardens left strewn of human waste and houses unable to use their toilets for 48 hours,” he added. He also raised highways safety concerns and called for deferral or further conditions for safer access from the B4632. Kevin O’Donoghue, clerk of Willersey Parish Council, said current planning applications will increase the village’s population by a quarter.
He called for it to be deferred for more evidence amid noise concerns from the neighbouring industrial park, the status of the land as an open space and developer contributions. During the debate, Cllr Michael Vann (LD, Fairford North) also expressed concerns over road safety concerns and said they witnessed speeding during a site visit.
He said: “The idea of having residential housing there on that bend without proper highway works is, to my mind, unthinkable.” This was echoed by Cllr Patrick Coleman (LD, Stratton) and Cllr Paul Evans (LD, The Beeches) said they “almost lost Cllr Coleman to a triple articulated truck coming out of the village at significantly above the speed limit”.
Report source: Gloucestershire Live