We had a great show last night (22nd November) on Severn FM with Ian Butler from HPC and Cllr David Mossman from SDC (who had literally just come from dialysis the hour before). We learnt a lot and mainly how SDC, Redrow & Hardwicke Estate are not to blame for this but the Planning Inspectorate who suggested in 2016 that Hardwicke was a suitable place to build 1350 houses! 9 years at an average pace of 150 houses a year – that’s 9 years!!
Also, that if SDC doesn’t manage this carefully, the Planning Inspectorate is very likely to overrule any objection of SDC, HPC and at worse allow Gloucester City Council to build there under the Joint Core Strategy thus taking away ANY control from SDC and HPC. We understand that whilst Gloucester doesn’t want to expand into Hardwicke, it is desperate for suitable development sites and therefore Stroud has ‘offered’ Gloucester “Whaddon” to help out their 6000 home shortage. We don’t know the response yet. We also understand that the preferred site for a Secondary School is Whaddon.
Also, that if SDC doesn’t manage this carefully, the Planning Inspectorate is very likely to overrule any objection of SDC, HPC and at worse allow Gloucester City Council to build there under the Joint Core Strategy thus taking away ANY control from SDC and HPC. We understand that whilst Gloucester doesn’t want to expand into Hardwicke, it is desperate for suitable development sites and therefore Stroud has ‘offered’ Gloucester “Whaddon” to help out their 6000 home shortage. We don’t know the response yet. We also understand that the preferred site for a Secondary School is Whaddon.
Great show with lots of information and well worth a second listen for the detail.
Inevitably seems the keyword in all this …….. or is it?
We need to keep the pressure on SDC, the planning inspector, Gloucester City council.
We the people ! We live here……… listen to us !
Redrow propose a build rate of 125 / 150 houses per year…….. outrageous……. 10 years to finish it. Building regulations and policies will change in that time and the general overview and oversight of the whole build. That will mean whatever they plan to start with will not be the outcome at the end state.
There will be planning creep, I.e. more houses will get squeezed in as they did with Hunts Grove ….. guaranteed! They won’t promise on that one.
Additionally living in a building site for 10 years…….. it has to be a non starter. £1.25 billion Redrow can more than cope with a quicker build plan and cash flow the build …….. don’t make it our issue as well.
Lots of issues here …….. they have got to listen …. make them listen.