Where should new housing and other development be located in Stone Town over the next 20 years? Stafford Borough Council thinks it has the answer – and wants your views on its proposals.
People in Stone have been urged to have their say on the council’s plans for future development in the town and the wider borough in a consultation that started on 5th September and runs until 21st October.
The draft ‘Plan for Stafford Borough’ identifies land in Walton for housing development, 18 hectares of new employment land south of Stone Business Park and also highlights a new health centre and upgraded infrastructure.
A public exhibition will be held at Walton Community Centre, Whitemill Lane, on Thursday 22nd September between 2pm and 8.30pm. Planning officers from the council will be on hand to answer questions.
The ‘Plan for Stafford Borough’ sets out where future housing and industrial development could be located. It states that no new housing will be allocated to rural areas. These are its key objectives for Stone:
- Provide new high quality homes. In the medium term new development will take place west of Stone
- Deliver a new health centre as part of future community facilities
- Provide new high quality employment land
- Provide infrastructure including an upgraded electricity distribution network, new sewage facilities, green infrastructure links, enhanced public transport and new education provision through housing developments
- Deliver new mixed use town centre proposals to enhance Stone as a centre providing for local needs of retail, leisure and community activities
- Safeguard and enhance the landscape setting through new green infrastructure provision including supporting the role of the Trent Valley corridor through the town in terms of biodiversity, accessibility, recreation and community uses together with exploring the opportunities for marina and commercial developments
A site north of Eccleshall Road has been identified for 500 new homes, but the council says this will not be built for at least 10 years – and only after developments which have already got planning consent have been delivered.
This is what the Plan says about future housing:
New housing development west of the town is more deliverable than locations to the east of Stone, which would require bridging of the West Coast mainline railway. Land north of Eccleshall Road, known as Walton Hill, could provide 500 new homes and present a more appropriate extension and rounding off to the existing urban fabric of Walton west of Manor Hill Primary School, delivered later in the Plan period due to recent commitments and the rate of growth
And on employment development…
New employment development of approximately 18 hectares west of the A34 Stafford Road could be provided south of the existing Stone Business Park. However, employment commitments at Meaford could be considered sufficient for Stone’s needs over the Plan period, with over 34 hectares being available
The Plan also has a detailed Development Strategy that covers the town centre, open space, transport and the environment (pages 53 to 63 of the document).
The document states: “No conclusions have been drawn and a final decision on the development locations will take place after this consultation exercise, taking into account responses received.”
Councillor Frances Beatty, cabinet member for planning and regeneration on the borough council, said: “I’d urge local people, businesses, charity organisations, in fact everyone who cares about the area where we live, work and enjoy, to tell us how they think our borough should look.
“If you have suggestions we want to know, and if anyone thinks we should be doing something differently then please tell us.”
You can get more information and make comments at www.staffordbc.gov.uk/ldf. The ‘Plan for Stafford Borough – Draft Publication’ will also be available at Stone Library, where people can make comments.
For further enquiries contact the Forward Planning Team on 01785 619000 or email forwardplanning@staffordbc.gov.uk.
The closing date for comments is 12pm on 21st October.
- employment
- housing
- Local Development Framework
- Plan for Stafford Borough
- Stafford Borough Council
- town centre
2 comments
B barnes
have your say waste of time can not cope with doctors surgery have to wait over a week to get a app how will they cope with all these extra houses going up pure madness not a market town any more what ever we say it will go a head
Mr P
This is pure madness. The infrastructure and roads in Stone are inadequate for the number of people already living here let alone increasing the numbers and volume of traffic. I suggest that if new developments are to be considered then new roads that are wider and more flexible to cope with it. But seeing as we have a river and canal one side and a railway line the other I cannot see how this is possible! Stone is a bottle neck with too many traffic lights and too many poor drivers that cannot navigate the sub standard one way system! Morrisons should never have been granted planning permission with the access that it offers to motorists. Re open the High Street to traffic once more because at the rate the shops are closing it will be a ghost town shortly anyway!