By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
A hugely controversial plan to build almost 19,000 homes, which opponents fear will “ruin” vast swathes of the Cotswolds, is a step closer to becoming a reality.
Cotswold District Council is in the process of developing its new local plan which will allocate land for development from 2026 until 2043.
Council chiefs have been handed the task by the Government to find sites for more housing and they are putting forward a plan for 18,900 homes to be built over that period. And councillors voted this week on taking the blueprint to the next stage and consult with the public.
The draft plan aims to meet the target by allocating 90 per cent of the new homes in ten strategic sites across the district.
These include four sites in and around Cirencester, and others at Down Ampney, Driffield, Kemble, Fairford, Mickleton and Moreton-in-Marsh.
Conservative group leader Tom Stowe (Campden and Vale) led the opposition to the draft local plan at the council meeting on August 12.
He blasted the blueprint which attempts to “shoehorn 18,000 homes into a handful of locations”.
“The Lib Dems position is baffling,” he said.
“After first challenging the Government about the ridiculous unsustainable housing targets, they’ve now fallen into line and are unveiling a plan that does exactly what Labour told them to do, a plan they say – they can stand behind, well it’s not a plan I can stand behind.
“These proposals will destroy communities, cause irreversible harm to resident’s wellbeing and ruin the character of vast swathes of our district – a district which it is our duty to protect.
“In terms of infrastructure the plan does not provide enough realistic evidence to properly test whether the infrastructure required to support this level of development is viable.
“We have a wish list of infrastructure, supported by high-level cost estimates totalling £420 million.
“There are huge vagueries in this information – an example is the Local Hub proposed for Mickleton – this includes “some” GP Services – whatever that means, schools and retail offerings.
“What is the indicative high level cost of this? Zero! We have no idea what, if anything is going to be delivered, how much it’s going to cost or who is going to pay for it.”
He went on to say he he would not be supporting the plans on behalf of the residents of Campden Vale and the many other communities affected by the plan.
“We can’t just roll over and rubber stamp these numbers imposed by this rotten government, it is a resounding no from me,” he said.
Concerns about the plans were shared across the chamber with Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach), who abstained, saying he remained deeply concerned about the scale of the housing requirement being imposed on the district by the government.
He said the figures do not take into account the “unique” constraints of the Cotswold district.
Cllr Hodgkinson thanked the council’s Lib Dem leader Mike Evemy (Siddington and Cerney Rural) for challenging the Government on the figures.
And he told the meeting he too has written to the Prime Minister Andy Burnham, housing secretary Angela Rayner and housing minister Matthew Pennycook over the issue
“We hope he’s going to listen, he may not,” he said.
Fellow Lib Dem Lisa Spivey (The Ampneys and Hampton), who is also the leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said she recognised the importance of having a local plan and the risks of not having one.
But she did not believe the local plan before councillors was not the right one for the Cotswold district and she voted against the plan.
“This isn’t just about me being parochial, although clearly the allocations in Down Ampney and Driffield are of particular concern to me as their representation and in Preston where I live,” she said.
“But I also believe this is not the right plan for Fairford, for Moreton or for Mickleton.”
She said the Government’s arbitrary target failed to address housing affordability in the Cotswolds.
“Housing targets do not deliver affordable homes,” she said. “Councils building council houses deliver affordable homes.
“The market delivers profits to its shareholders. On top of this we’ve got the constraint of the national landscape and flood plains which effectively means the rest of the district is being asked to shoulder the overwhelming burden of meeting that housing requirement.”
Councillor Patrick Coleman (LD, Stratton) told the meeting the alternative to not having a local plan had already been tried in the past.
He said Tetbury, Fairford and Moreton-in-Marsh suffered from development without control as a result.
Conservative Gina Blomefield (Campden-Vale) said the housing targets were “preposterous” and questioned if the promised infrastructure for the new homes would be built at all.
“People are really distressed, they are not just a bit unhappy,” she said. “They are absolutely desperate about the proposals that might happen in Mickleton.”
Cllr Evemy said at the end of the debate that he recognised the decision is difficult for many councillors and that they were “between a rock and a hard place”.
“We would all prefer a different plan with fewer houses in it,” he said.
“But that is not a plan that an inspector would find sound. And if an inspector doesn’t find a plan sound, it isn’t going anywhere – it’s going in the bin.”
He said the council had to be realistic and continue with the plan or “give up all the work we’ve done” and let communities deal with all the speculative development for another five years.
“It would be, in my view, a total abdication of leadership to vote down this plan now,” he added.
The council voted to go out to consultation on the next phase of the plan by 17 to 11 with two abstentions.
The Liberal Democrat councillors largely voted in favour apart from Lisa Spivey and Craig Thurling (The Rissingtons) who voted against while Paul Hodgkinson and Jon Wareing (Bourton Village) obtained. The Conservatives all voted against the proposal.
Residents will be able to have their say on the plan during a six-week consultation which begins on August 24 and runs until October 5, 2026 before the plan is submitted for independent examination.
The consultation will include public exhibitions and community meetings enabling residents to ask questions before making formal comments.