A Cotswold town would “march in the street” if plans to “dump almost 2,000 homes on them” were ever to become a reality. Moreton-in-Marsh has been identified in plans to update the blueprint for development in the Cotswold district as a town which can take further development.
The Liberal Democrat-run District Council has identified various sites to the south, east and north of the town outside the Cotswolds National Landscape that are available for house building. They say these sites could provide an extra 1,500 by 2041 and would have access to services, facilities and employment sites.
But Cllr MacKenzie-Charrington (C, Stow-on-the-Wold), who raised his concerns over the issue this week as Conservative-led Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) debated a motion on the terrible track record of water companies, said the housing proposals are likely to stir up protests in Moreton.
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“The initial concept is somewhere between 1,500 and 1,800 new homes over a period up to 2041,” he said. “They will be marching in the street in Moreton if it were ever to become a reality because of the infrastructure.”
He said the new housing would take place on the east of the town which is outside the Cotswold National Landscape. “It’s a very easy win for the district council just to dump more than 50 per cent more housing than they need to find in Moreton.
“But they would have to put in a relief road. A north-south road looping round Moreton heading towards would be in the order of £50m or £60m. The likelihood of that happening is remote.”
He also said the town has nearly doubled in size over the last decade and the water and sewage system cannot cope.
“Proposing this massive growth would put the whole system in severe strain.” He said during the council meeting on June 26 that he was mystified as to why Cotswold District Council (CDC) is proposing in its local plan “somewhere in the region of 1,500 to approaching 2,000 new homes in an area where we have insufficient sewage works”.
“Thames Water, from my discussions with them, while they have a proposal to do works, it’s years out.” Councillor Paul Hodgkinson said Cllr Mckenzie-Charrington’s comments were “a bit rich” when GCC decided to put together a strategic document showing a 7,000-home garden town there.
“That’s your council, your administration,” he said. “Nothing to do with CDC”. CDC are consulting.”
Council leader Mark Hawthorne (C, Quedgeley) raised a point of order and said what Cllr Hogkinson was stating was factually incorrect. And it was outrageous how he introduced it “surreptitiously” into the debate about water firms and sewage.
Last month, Cllr Hodgkinson, who is a cabinet member at CDC, expressed dismay at the lack of openness surrounding a strategic development discussion paper which suggested 7,000 homes could be built in Moreton by 2051.
And he criticised the “hypocrisy” of Conservative Councillors for publicly criticising Lib Dem-led CDC for addressing the government’s targets on housing. But the Tories at Shire Hall have made it very clear that the paper was just produced to help aid discussions over where sustainable housing could be built in the county.
Ultimately, each district council will be responsible for deciding where they believe the tens of thousands of new homes should be built.