Plans to build up to 95 new homes on the outskirts of Stone have met with dozens of objections, including from town councillors.
A planning statement submitted as part of the application said the site had previously been proposed as an allocation for 97 homes during a review of Stafford Borough Council’s adopted Local Plan in 2020, which reached the Preferred Options stage.
It added
“The site has previously been the subject of two planning applications for residential development; however these applications were subsequently refused because of the site being located beyond the settlement boundary, at a time when the council was able to demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land.
“It is important to note that neither application was subject to a reason for refusal for any technical matter or due to the site being physically unsuitable for residential development. Indeed, subsequently the council proposed the site as an allocation.”
More than 80 objections have been submitted to Stafford Borough Council in response to the latest application.
Stone Town Council members have supported residents who have raised concerns including congestion on Uttoxeter Road and the impact on infrastructure such as schools and health services.
In its submission to the borough council, Stone Town Council said
“The proposed development is outside the settlement boundary as defined within the Stone Neighbourhood Plan which remains in place and should be observed. Stone already has a plan to meet its quota of new build homes and this additional proposal will exceed the requirement over that period.
“The existing infrastructure in Stone will not support the recent influx of large scale planning applications coming through which do not address or mitigate the impact on local services such as roads, connections to the sewage/drainage network, education and schooling, GP and primary care services as well as pressures on other facilities and amenities in the town. At peak times there is a significant traffic congestion issue on the Uttoxeter Road where the exit and entrance point to the new estate is located.
“The Uttoxeter Road is a well-used route out of town to surrounding villages as well as providing the only access point to residents of the 700 houses on Aston Lodge Park. The closing of the level crossing at regular intervals already causes long lines of traffic on both sides of the railway, along the Uttoxeter Road and around the nearby traffic lights on the Lichfield Road.”
A resident of The Crossings said in their objection
“I recently had an appointment at my doctors (at) Cumberland House, High Street, and it was at breaking point. I was unable to park on the car park as it was totally full with cars even parking down the middle of the car park (and) the waiting room was full, this is just one example of the strain the population of Stone (is) taking on our doctors surgeries.
“The number of cars that 95 dwellings would create is at least 95 which would cause a lot of traffic issues in the area. The proposed entrance and exit is an extremely dangerous stretch of road as the entrance/exit to Aston Lodge is on the opposite side of the road and the speed of cars coming down the hill is more than 30mph, which is just an accident waiting to happen.”
A Uttoxeter Road resident said
“My main concern is highway safety and network resilience. In practice, the railway level crossing is a critical connection between Lichfield Road and the B5027/Uttoxeter Road corridor, and this development would add further traffic to a route already affected by delays and disruption at the crossing.
“National planning policy requires safe and suitable access for all users and proper access by service and emergency vehicles. I am very concerned about emergency access if the automated crossing is unavailable, remains down or suffers a fault at the same time emergency services need to reach the B5027 area.”
A Stubbs Drive resident said
“Fundamentally, I am very much in favour of new housing construction throughout the country since the ongoing housing shortage is the single biggest drag on growth for our economy. However, it must be accompanied by improvements in infrastructure to support the added usage by the new incoming population.
“As such, a key aspect of this planning must include consideration for the increased traffic usage of Uttoxeter Road towards the traffic lights and over the level crossing. This is a significant source of congestion at the best of times and the addition of more housing onto the road will make it worse.”
A Mercer Avenue resident said
“I would have no objection to this development if access to it were from a point on the A51 south of where the railway crosses it, so there is no need for residents to cross the railway. A new road would be needed, but there would be potential for more development along the new road.
“Access to the development from Uttoxeter Road should not be allowed because it would make the traffic issues due to the railway level crossing even worse than they are now.”
