‘The wrong houses in the wrong place...’
2:49pm Friday 25th April 2008
PLANS to build a major new housing estate have been submitted to Herefordshire Council.
Bloor Homes wants to put 300 homes on a 13.2-hectare site between Hoarwithy Road and Bullingham Lane.
The land has been set aside for development in Herefordshire Council’s Unitary Development Plan (UDP).
But a full planning application outlining the developer’s ideas needs to be approved by councillors before building can start.
Objection to the building project has come from campaigners who are angry the estate will contain no affordable housing and that Bloor Homes will make a contribution towards the Rotherwas relief road, which is currently being built.
Steve MacPherson, of Bloor Homes, confirmed the housebuilder had offered the council a “significant financial contribution” towards the road, which the council says will be finished within a fortnight.
Herefordshire Council requested the agreement in the UDP, which allocates 300 homes for the site.
One person who has spoken out against the homes plan is former MP Bob Clay, who has called the lack of social housing “an appalling precedent”.
“What a tragedy that when people in Herefordshire are crying out for decent housing that they can afford, the council is contemplating such an inappropriate scheme – the wrong houses in the wrong place,” he said.
The proposed development – bordering the railway line and known as Withybrook Edge – will include a range of houses and apartments, ranging from one to five bedrooms.
A road connecting Hoarwithy Road and Bullingham Lane will run through the estate, should the plans be approved, and will include a central open space and parkland on the east side. Cycle connections will be provided, while the homes are designed to meet low carbon emissions.
“The proposed development has been objectively demonstrated to make a significant contribution to the aims and objectives of sustainable development,” read a statement from the applicants backing the scheme.
Councillors are set to approve or reject the plans at a forthcoming planning committee meeting.
l A public meeting on the proposals will be held at the Kindle Centre, ASDA, Belmont Road, at 7.15pm on Monday.