COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Villagers near Nuneaton are fighting to stop ancient fields from being lost to housing.



The site, off Plough Hill Road, Galley Common, is listed in 16th century deeds as part of “Nuneaton Manor and Priory Lands” and has remained a haven for ramblers, dog walkers and a wide variety of wildlife.

But an outline application has been made by Gladman Developments, from Cheshire, to turn it into a 262-home estate, with a convenience store and a new car park for the nearby school.

Strong local opposition has been mounted against the proposal, which is due to put before the borough council planning committee on August 12.

Campaign spokesman Bryan Reynolds said: “There is nothing in this application for the villagers. Not only will we lose our last truly wild area, but the plan is totally unsustainable.

“The local school is heavily oversubscribed and the governors oppose this development; the new estate entrance would be very close to the school and add to the already hazardous traffic situation there.

“The proposed car park would only make matters worse, as cars would queue on the road to enter it, and we certainly don’t need another convenience store as permission has only recently been granted for a Co-op a few hundred yards away.

“To cap it all several hundred extra cars will be added to the already intolerable rush hour queues on Plough Hill Road and the local bus service is minimal, with no buses after 6.30pm and none at all on Sundays.”

The council currently has no Borough Plan in place but this parcel of land was described in a previous planning document as ‘An Area of Restraint’ with an emphasis placed on “conserving the undulating landform of low rounded hills; woodland on high ground; wooded streams; and frequent hedgerow trees.”

More than 100 residents turned out to attend a recent public meeting and ceremoniously walk across the fields. Objections have been lodged at the Town Hall and MP Marcus Jones has promised to visit the village this weekend to take on board local concerns.

Mr Reynolds added: “No amount of financial compensation from the developers can offset both the permanent loss of this important amenity and the massive overloading of our village infrastructure.”

If the development is given the go-ahead, it would increase the number of homes in Galley Common by about a third.

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones is backing villagers over a fight to save ancient fields from being lost to housing.



Plans have been submitted to build 262 homes at Plough Hill Road, Galley Common, on land which has been a haven for ramblers and wildlife for centuries.

Residents have launched a campaign to oppose the proposal and were joined at a rally on the site by Mr Jones, who said: “I share local concerns about inappropriate housing developments and the impact they have on local infrastructure, such as roads, schools, doctors surgeries and other important services.”

The Nuneaton Tory politician added: “Regrettably, all of this may not be happening if the council had already put in place a Borough Plan.

"That said, I am calling on the council to do the right thing and support local residents on this issue.”

Galley Common action group spokesman Bryan Reynolds said: “It was great to see such a good turnout, particularly as so many of our supporters are on holiday right now.

"We walked through the fields with Marcus, so he could appreciate the beauty of this amenity. Villagers even enhanced the land around the time of the millennium by planting dozens of oak trees, which sadly will never reach maturity if this plan goes ahead, leaving us devastated.”

Labour Parliamentary candidate Vicky Fowler and party colleagues from the borough and county councils have also met villagers to listen to their complaints.

Miss Fowler said: “The surrounding land has been used for recreation and leisure for years. We will be asking the planning committee to take this into consideration and oppose the development.”

Mr Reynolds said: “It’s really encouraging that we have attracted cross-party support for our opposition and we call upon everyone to stand together against this opportunistic land grab by the developers.”

Pledge for no Top Farm homes for now

RESIDENTS will be relieved to hear that plans to build even more homes in a congested community in Nuneaton have been put on hold.

Much concern has been expressed about the future of land at Top Farm, and what Warwickshire County Council intends to do with it.

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones raised residents' fears with senior figures at Shire Hall.

County council cabinet members then committed not to plough ahead with any development plans in the near future.

They say the reason for this is they want to see the results of the public consultation into Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council's much-maligned Borough Plan.

The county council owned land is earmarked for development in the plan, which is a blueprint for future development across the borough.

But Shire Hall leaders have said that they want to see the outcome of the public consultation response, which was supposed to be revealed earlier in the year, before taking the next steps forward.

While praising the county's decision, Marcus Jones told the News that he was alarmed to hear claims that the borough council had actually been actively encouraging the county council to submit a planning application for for 1,500 new houses to be built on the land at Top Farm.

"I am really pleased that the leader of the county council and her cabinet have been willing to listen to the concerns that I have put on behalf of local people," Mr Jones said.

" I am not anti-development but think that the current number of houses that have been given permission for in Weddington and St Nicolas Wards is already over-intensive. I do not want to see the current infrastructure issues that we are now facing compounded against the will of local people.

"My meeting revealed what a shambles and sham of a process that the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Plan has become.

"After four years of delay and smoke and mirrors, I was shocked to find that the borough council were actively encouraging a planning application to be submitted ahead of any consideration and formal response to the public consultation.

"Over 4,000 people responded to the consultation, many of those people from Weddington, and their voice deserves to be heard before any further large scale developments are allowed."

But Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough councillor Tony Lloyd (pictured), cabinet member for planning and development, vehemently denied the claims that the borough council was encouraging the county council to forge ahead with a new housing development on Top Farm.

He said that the Town Hall has taken part in pre-application discussions with the county council but stressed that at no point has it been suggested that they should submit an application.

He said that any decisions about whether to submit a planning application will be made by Shire Hall.

Cllr Tony Lloyd added that any final decisions being made about where to allocate new development at Top Farm will involve further engagement with residents in the area.

"Before going to the press MP Marcus Jones should have checked the facts," Cllr Lloyd hit out.

"He should not use the Borough Plan as a political football. We are working with the county council and engaging with the public."

Yet more homes planned on housing development-hit road in Nuneaton



A second planning application has been submitted for a development-hit road in Nuneaton.

Living Space Housing wants to build 35 affordable homes on farm land off Plough Hill Road.

It would be situated on the road, close to the Countryside Properties PLC’s Baberton Grange development, which is currently under construction.

It is the second planning application to be submitted for Plough Hill Road this week.

There are proposals to build eight, three-bedroom homes on land on a haulage yard site off the main road.

In the Living Space Housing plan there would be eight one-bedroom homes, 12 two-bedroom designs, 12 three-bedroom homes, and three four-bedroom houses.

A total of fifty parking spaces will be provided for the new homes.

The application states they have been designed in a traditional architectural style, around a significant amount of public open space.

The plans, which include tree protection proposals as well as arboricultural survey report, have been submitted to Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.

Planning officers will now look at them in detail.

They have set a target decision date of May 23 to assess whether the plans will be given the green light or not.