Plans have been submitted for up to 95 homes on farmland off Uttoxeter Road on the southern edge of Stone.
Richborough is seeking outline planning permission for the development on a site of about 4.6 hectares, which sits between existing homes to the north, Little Stoke Cricket Club to the east and the railway line to the west. At this stage, only access is being fixed, with layout, appearance, landscaping and scale left for a later reserved matters application.
The applicant’s planning statement says the scheme would include 40 per cent affordable housing and that just under half the site would remain as open space, including drainage features. An illustrative layout has been prepared to show how the site could be developed, but that is not the final design.
Access to the site would be from Uttoxeter Road via a new priority T junction, with footways and pedestrian crossing points also proposed. The transport assessment says the access would have a 5.5 metre carriageway, 6 metre junction radii and 2 metre footways.
Traffic and the nearby Aston by Stone level crossing are likely to be among the issues local residents focus on. The applicant’s transport work says no personal injury accidents were recorded in the last five years on Uttoxeter Road near the site frontage, at the Lichfield Road junction or at the level crossing itself, and argues the development would not have a severe impact on the wider road network. It also says a contribution is expected towards a red light safety camera at the crossing.
The planning documents also point to a possible contribution towards bringing back the former S3 bus service through the area, along with bus stops on Uttoxeter Road.
Drainage and flooding are also likely to be closely watched. The flood risk assessment says the site is in Flood Zone 1, meaning it has a low risk of river flooding, but notes existing surface water issues around the ditch network, especially towards the western edge near the railway culvert. It proposes three attenuation basins, a swale along the western side of the site and a controlled discharge into the existing ditch network.
On ecology, the applicant says the site includes two Habitats of Principal Importance, hedgerows and broadleaved woodland. The ecological assessment says minor losses would be needed for access, but claims the scheme would still deliver biodiversity net gain above the required 10 per cent threshold. The headline figures given are 10.82 per cent for habitat areas, 10.74 per cent for hedgerows and 36.74 per cent for watercourses.
The heritage material says there are no designated heritage assets on the site itself, no non designated heritage assets recorded within the site boundary, and no clear evidence of significant archaeological remains from the geophysical survey, although further archaeological work could still be required by condition.
This is not the first time housing has been proposed on the land. Earlier applications in 2014 and 2016 were refused when Stafford Borough Council said it could demonstrate a five year housing land supply, although the current planning statement notes the site was later proposed for 97 homes in the borough’s now abandoned Preferred Options Local Plan.
People can view the full planning application, reference 25/41556/OUT, on the Stafford Borough Council planning portal at https://www12.staffordbc.gov.uk/online-applications/. The consultation window is open for comments, with the neighbour consultation expiry date listed as Friday 1 May 2026.
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