A major housing proposal for the western edge of Stone has returned to the table as Bloor Homes submits early plans for more than 500 homes and a new first school.
Stafford Borough Council has received a request for a screening opinion for land off Eccleshall Road – the first step in deciding whether a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be required before a formal planning application is made.
What’s being proposed?
Pegasus Group, on behalf of Bloor Homes, is preparing an outline planning application for:
- Up to 505 new homes
- A new first school
- Public open space and landscape planting
- Drainage systems and infrastructure
- Footpath and cycle connections
The site is currently greenfield land west of Udall Grange and east of Micklow House Farm. According to the developer, the plans would include retaining existing trees and hedgerows where possible and providing biodiversity improvements.
They describe the development as a “natural extension” of the town’s edge and say it will offer high-quality design and connections to local amenities.
A familiar site from the scrapped Local Plan
The land, known as site STO14, was featured in Stafford Borough Council’s now-withdrawn draft Local Plan. That version earmarked the 29.96-hectare site for up to 629 homes – slightly more than Bloor’s current figure of 505.
It was one of several sites originally submitted by landowners to Stafford Borough Council when they asked for sites to be considered for possible development. . Although work on borough’s new plan was recently scrapped, many residents and local observers believe similar sites will reappear in the new version currently being drawn up by the borough council.
Other large sites previously submitted for consideration around Stone included:
- STO06: Land at Uttoxeter Road (42 hectares / 882 homes)
- STO13: Land east of Oakleigh Court (6.45 hectares / 135 homes)
- STO07: Land near Spode Close (4.8 hectares / 101 homes)
Whilst not all of these locations will come to fruition, these figures paint a picture of a town that could see thousands of new homes over the next 10 to 15 years.
What happens next?
Stafford Borough Council has up to three weeks to respond to the screening request. This will determine whether a full Environmental Impact Assessment is necessary before Bloor Homes can move forward.
If it gets the green light, an outline planning application could follow later in 2025. That would trigger public consultation and further scrutiny.
We’ll continue to keep a close eye on this development and others as the borough council revises its Local Plan.
You can view the full details on the Stafford Borough Council Planning Portal – Reference 25/40406/ESS
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7 comments
Mrs Lee Roberts
I think this is the end of Stone after seeing this plan. The proposed development extends over the boundary of the 2019-2031 council neighbourhood plan. Not to mention the Richborough public consultation leaflet received this week about an application for a futher 240 dwellings opposite Udall Grange. It continues from the Taylor Whimpy homes up to the laybay where the Gypsy’s stay each year. This also falls over the neighbourhood boundary. We do not have enough Doctors for this many homes. When the M6 is closed everything is gridlocked. Richborough are also testing the water about more storage/ wharehouse type buildings on land up to the Pire Hill Fire Headquarters. All this in a Single fire engine town.
Tim B
I live on Udall Grange and know the land earmarked for building on. If it goes ahead it will totally cut off a Woodland Area that’s home to Foxes, Badgers, Rabbits and other endangered wild life. Although the Council are getting some well deserved stick, doesn’t the person who owns the land deserve some too ? Pretty sure they would already have had a large pay day for Udall Grange …..and now they want more ??? Just plain greedy. If they do sell it for development, they will probably do the norm and sell up and move elsewhere and leave the ruined town for us to enjoy….thanks !!!
Mike A
It’s already gone too far. Huge warehouses, endless housing developments, crumbling infrastructure, lack of reliable or accessible core services, dying high street, independents shutting down. This place was beautiful for so many years. I love our community and the people of stone are generally a joy to live amongst. It’s so sad to see our high street taking its last breath, the decay setting in and yet the constant traffic and queues most of the time. Dont really know what’s gone wrong, but this constant swell of land sell off for housing and cheap industrial conglomerates is slowly eroding the community spirit we always had and morphing it into energy of a city, including the anti social behaviour and without any of the vibrancy.
Sam Macham
I live in Walton and the eccleshall road is a nightmare since udall grange and the other estate were built, another 505 houses and another primary school and it will be even worse, stone does not have the infrastructure to support all these houses, we also don’t have the spaces in the middle schools and high school for the extra children
John Cooper
Stone is going down the pan, from a quaint, quiet & charming little place to an extension of what Stoke on Trent is, this was a place for those that wanted to have a quiet & scenic life, away from the hassle of cities & crime.
Just look at Westfield park, taken over by lawless teenagers, drugs & vandals.
Stone is growing but policing has remained stagnant, it’s attracting mobs who know they can get away with absolutely anything.
Then we propose to build 500+ more houses? Laughable.
Cooper John
Karen.
Lynne Williams
Why are the council even thinking about building on greenfield land? You can’t keep building on farmland when the political and economic situation may mean that in the not too distant future we may need to grow food to support ourselves – or haven’t you noticed? And I object to the attitude that this is ‘just a natural extension’ of the town’s edge. If the council carries on like this, on like this, there will be little countryside left.