The Joint Core Strategy (JCS) for Cheltenham and Tewkesbury is ready for consulation
It is critical that YOU make your voice heard
We know that large planning applications for thousands of houses around Cheltenham are about to be made. The lack of a published Regional Spatial Strategy (for the South West) due to legal challenges and 35,000 responses by you means there is currently a vacuum and councils are being urged to give earlier drafts of the RSS ’significant weight’ even though your comments haven’t been fully considered. It is crucial that local opposition to these plans is made by responding to the JCS so the council has the backing to reject these plans. Although not confirmed we think the consultation will start on Monday 23rd Nov for 10 weeks.
See here for what you can do
URGENT!
Email the housing minister John Denham here to scale back housing plans for 30,000 new houses per year in the South West
Further details about the campaign:
“Save The Countryside” is made up of Swindon Village and Elmstone Hardwicke residents who were alarmed by the settlement of 5,000 houses planned to be built to the North-West of Cheltenham alongside the Tewkesbury Road between Swindon Village and Elmstone Hardwick. See the outline plans here. The Goverment plans an unprecedented rate of growth for the area aiming to build these houses by 2016. We believe these projections are based on a deeply flawed model of the numbers required.
Key concerns are:
- Increased traffic on roads that are already congested
- Loss of the village character of Swindon Village
- Increased pollution
- Loss of green space for walking
- Tragic loss of wildlife
- Increased Flood risks
The Government imposed a target of 12,500 houses on the Cheltenham built-up area by 2026 in its draft Regional Spatial Strategy – a growth of 25% in the next 18 years. Following a review, this is set to increase to 13,800 houses. If this happens it will be an unprecedented rate of growth in the area and will have a massive impact on our town and its quality.
The major focus of growth will be in the Greenbelt along Tewkesbury Rd towards the junction with the M5 motorway. A settlement of 4,000 was originally planned here straddling Cheltenham around Swindon Village and stretching into Tewkesbury. This is recommended to increase to 5,000 in the final Regional Spatial Strategy. See the plans
The Government is keen to pursue a national growth strategy. As a result of this it wants 2 million houses built in the UK by 2020. This will see a substantial increase in the population of the area as people move here from other parts of the country.
It has offered some funding for ‘infrastructure and planning’ to those Councils that agree to ‘accelerate’ their rate of growth, and deliver some of their 2026 housing targets by 2016. As a result of this, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Borough Council has applied for funding for infrastructure for an ‘urban extension’ of 5,000 houses to be built by 2016. This is equivalent to a town bigger than Tewkesbury being built on the outskirts of Cheltenham. It is institutionalised urban sprawl.
It will mean:
- Building on the Green Belt which was meant to stop Urban Sprawl
- A huge increase in traffic along Tewkesbury Road and all surrounding areas
- A huge increase in people moving into the area – but it will not provide ‘affordable’ housing for local people, which is what is needed.
- Endangering the environmental quality of the town – the very thing that is the basis of its success.
‘Save the Countryside’ is opposed to this development and the Government’s growth strategy. We call on local councils to resist these plans, to oppose the increase in housing numbers and protect the green belt.
We call on local people:
- To support this campaign to stop urban sprawl – and to lobby your MP, Parish, District and County Councillors.
- To oppose any planning permission for a new town on the outskirts of Cheltenham when the application comes forward. The longer we can delay these plans, the more chance there is of stopping them ever happening.
Please:
- Sign the petition going round, and if you have an e-mail and want to be kept informed, give us your number. Contact us if you want to get involved by writing to the address at the bottom of this page.
- Get involved in the campaign – and actively oppose this development.
“Save The Countryside”, 14 Clarence Walk, St. George’s Place, Cheltenham GL50 3RG
7 March, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Just in case anyone is in any doubt about the implications of of local councils applying for “Growth Points Status” click on the link below.
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2008-02-04c.183439.h&s=section%3Awrans+speaker%3A11494#g183439.q0
19 March, 2008 at 11:58 am
I was at the meeting at the Municipal Offices and made my views know especially in regard to the lack of information and the fact that it appeared The Echo was not reporting. I would like to let you know that I have my offices at Home Farm Quat Goose Lane as well as living in Quat Goose Lane and we have had surveyors in the fields for the past few weeks and they seem to be doing more and more work. It seems that it is a done deal !!! Which I hope is not the case ?
19 March, 2008 at 11:59 am
Also did anyone walk the fields after last weeks rain ? I did as I walk my dog evry day and the fields were all flooded. If we build on these fields where will the rain water go ? Contact 07949-713434
19 March, 2008 at 8:03 pm
THIS DEVELOPMENT IS NOT NEEDED. THE CARBON FOOTPRINT, THE AFFECT ON THE IDYLLIC PLACE WHERE WE LIVE AND THE AFFECT TO WILD LIFE THAT LIVES NATURALLY. ALL NEGATIVE.
25 March, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I too have seen surveyors and other “hi vis” jacket wearers where I walk my dog from Elmstone Hardwicke to Swindon Village via Brockhamton and back. It seems like they are all over the place and indeed looks like the deal has been done.
Surely if it is Green belt land it is the property of the county council and therefore “ours” as tax payers. How can it be legal for the council to sell it on without permission?
25 March, 2008 at 7:36 pm
This area is already at saturation point regards traffic flow, the congestion at what what was once the old Lex Mead roundabout, is totally unacceptable. How much more traffic do they intend shunting down to this area of Cheltenham? I shall not vote for any-one who agreed to this madness. We have been sold down the river by this totally incompetent Borough Council. They should be voted out of office. THEY ARE NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE!! Wymans Lane is now a mini motorway, a short cut for the Ambulance ,Fire and Police services, with sirens blaring at all hours of the day and night.
4 April, 2008 at 9:08 pm
If these builders who build on flood plains were to be held responsible for the damage done and compensation liabilities TOTALLY, they would not be so eager to build on such land that has this ‘KNOWN’ risk… would they?
Having said that Cleeve Common doesn’t have flooding problems does it?
6 April, 2008 at 11:25 am
Just about all politicians now support building on the green belt. Quite disgusting.
6 May, 2008 at 10:24 am
So far our campaign is working well. IT S NOT ALREADY A DONE DEAL! so don’t worry about the surveying etc.
This issue has been discussed in Westminster already and our MP’s are supporting us.
Please do support us and come to the walk on Sunday 18th May 2pm just after the allotments at Swindon Village or at Ludilow Lane in Elmstone Hardwicke.
The Echo should be there to report.
Once the revised Regional spacial strategy doc is published by the gov, we will be in a more informed position and will consider some larger scale events.
The more noise we make and support we have, the better our chances are of success. It’s up to us all!
Thanks so far to everyone’s teriffic support.
Helen
18 May, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Just about all politicians, Eddie, but not all. See my contributions to recent parliamentary debates on these issues at http://www.theyworkforyou.com . Cheers
Martin
18 May, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Wow what a turn out! Great to see so many people making the effort to lend their support to the campaign today.
Special thanks to the ‘caterers’ and hosts for the very welcome cups of tea at both ends of the route.
19 May, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Is this land open to the public as of right and has it been used for leisure activites for 20 years? Have the current plans been lodged (planning application) for more or less than 2 years? have you looked into registration of all or part of the land under the Commons Act 2006. If not, suggest you contact the Open Spaces Society asap.
20 May, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Well, if anyone was in doubt as to the ground swell of support for keeping the local greenbelt, they’re not now!
A great turnout for the walk on Sunday. Many thanks to the people who came. Did you see your picture in the Echo?
My impression was that everyone had a great time. Especially the ones who managed to get a muffin before they all went!
If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry. There will be other events/activities.
The key aim is to build support so that when the final plans are submitted there is a tidal wave of objections.
25 May, 2008 at 8:13 am
We can’t let this building happen, these green fields will be lost forever, my grandfather used to farm there 60 years ago, i spent all my childhood rounding up cattle, haymaking with the late Richard Pullen, those fields are close to my heart, let me know when the next event is and i’ll be there, also what effect would there be on Tewkesbury where i now live if we have another downpour of 2007, surely it will have a knockon effect.
23 August, 2008 at 7:57 pm
This proposal is beyond belief? Whoever thought of it has obviously never been flooded.
They must be brain dead thats if they had one in the first place. Both Tewkesbury & Cheltenham had better get in a supply of waders.
Also if they keep taking away agriculture land at this rate, they better hope theres never a world shortage of food because we wont be able to grow sufficient?
28 August, 2008 at 10:33 am
We should not build any more properties until 90% of those currently EMPTY have been brought back into use, both flat and houses.
I have several empty properties – a year or more – within 5mins. of my front door. This is a scandal. And they still want to build on miniscule BACK GARDENS.
6 September, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Hi there
I am not a local, but I belong to a group which is fighting exactly the same proposals from the SWRA as yourselves. My ambitious target is to get all the groups in the South West Region to join together and say NO. We mean it NO.
Interested? South Gloucestershire is my area.
21 September, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I am not a total NIMBY – if there is a need for housing, including affordable and social housing, it should be built. But why so many houses? And is it really needed? Once these houses have been built there is no going back – if they lie vacant our countryside is lost forever. The way the housing market is at the moment there are many houses which already aren’t selling, so why add 5,000 more? Why not build on brownfield sites and fill up the vacant housing and THEN see whether there is still a demand.
And I was totally shocked to see no mention of flood risk for Gloucestershire in the Regional Spatial Strategy. Gloucestershire has always been prone to flooding but last July was something else and something none of us will ever forget. But those writing the RSS weren’t here and it is easy for them to forget.
26 September, 2008 at 11:51 am
Maybe I am a NIMBY, but I am concered that as with the fire station, it sailed through even though the obections were sound, valid, they ignored all the objections and still want to erect it in residents back gardens, when 200 yards west would make better sense. Housing levels at Barbridge is and always was a crazy idea, as is now being realised.
Stop this building boom in its present plan and use common sense to (if ignored) resite it in a more friendly situation, NOT on green belt.
Our sunrise is now highrise !!!
7 October, 2008 at 10:22 am
I wish to oppose in principle to the Governments plans under the Regional Spacial Strategy.
In particular I wish to oppose the propsal to build 1000 houses north of Bishops Cleeve as this will further blight a beautiful area of English countryside with more mediocre houses.
The roads and other infrastructure around Bishops Cleeve is already at saturation levels and this will only add to the local difficulties.
Where is the evidence for the need for all these new houses? It is pure Labour Party dogma!
9 October, 2008 at 11:26 am
“But why so many houses? And is it really needed?”
Asks S.Wood.
The answer: They are needed for foreign immigrants. There has been a massive bncrease in immigration to the Britain including Cheltenham , particulalry since March 2004 and the admittance of the A8 Eastern Europeans to our labour market.
The choice is this, severely restrict immigration including opposing the EU directive on free movement of labour, or see a lot more building on the Green Belt.
There simply are not enough brownfield sites left to house our massively increasing poulation.
There is no likelihood of it diminishing naturally either as soon Romanians will be joining the floods of Poles and Lithuanians into Britain, and eventually Turks too will be added.
10 October, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Ah – but immigration is down, the Poles are going back to Poland, Brits are emigrating in droves, the numbers need to be revisited.
26 April, 2009 at 7:17 pm
My impression of the meeting held on Friday evening is that of an organised body of like-minded people unanimous in their intentions which is a far cry from last year when, it seemed, there were protracted discussions and views trying to pull away from that common goal. Congratulations for this year as you have matured into a popular and strong voice to be heard and taken seriously.
My personal view is that if the SWRSS made the decision to build on the land around Swindon Village BEFORE the floods of 2007 then why is it so difficult for the present government to put its hand up and say ooops! we made a mistake. In my opinion the government should review the build strategy with a view to rescind this obvious mistake… or is it just beneath this government to do the right thing.
In last weeks paper there was a budget article which stated “An extra £500 million will be made available to kick-start the building on stalled housing projects…” which means that Save the Countryside and ALL local residents should not let their guard down.
7 June, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Now that Hazel Blears has gone we might fear her replacement because at this stage of the ‘Save the Countryside’ operations it could be that ‘the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t’.
I might be barking up the wrong tree here as her raplacement could lend a more sympathetic ear of the misdemeanours of the predecessors misjudgement.
Why do I feel like I am the only one making comments on this site… am I??… is there anyone else out there?
23 June, 2009 at 12:31 pm
As the campaign to fight the government’s South West RSS steps up, we have now a bigger brother web site for you all to visit and play with!
http://www.saveourgreenspaces.org
It is the amalgamtion of about 35 different action groups, like Save The Counrtyside. All of us campaigning for the same thing. If you haven’t already, Please sign up for the newsletter.
With regard to the process, it is in limbo. The South East RSS is in juditial revue, and the outcome will direct the next step for the South West. Either way it delay the process considereably and the longer the delay the better it is!
Keep confident and keep signing what ever you can.
Writing to the MP’s is always good and keeps them focused!
Cheers all
26 August, 2009 at 4:18 pm
We wish you all the best of luck. However in Quedgeley, Glos. We have another development of over 4,000 houses and plans for a 10 storey incinerator being dumped on us.
A word of advice. The plans have probably been already approved. What you have to do is study the Council building regulations regarding S103 payments from the builders. This is for areas such as playgrounds etc. Look at the Councils open space proposals on developments and fight to uphold them.
They will do anything to put an extra house on a development, which should be open space.
Also, look at the trees in the area and apply for preservation orders on them. If you have natural ponds, say there are Great Crested Newts in them, that really stalls things. Look also for rare breeds of birds and bats in the area.
Badger setts are protected by law.
You need a full survey of the area by professionals to obtain this advice.
Once again good luck
30 October, 2009 at 11:36 pm
THINK ABOUT THIS EVERYONE.
In light of the recent revelations from the Labour party that they have been letting in millions of immigrants for the last ten years, this highlights their demand for 5000 houses around Swindon Village and other sites around the country. This is very underhanded and TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE just to house immigrants that will push the local jobs-market, hospitals etc to breaking point which by its very nature denies local people earning a decent living which is their right.
Getting back to the main topic… these houses are an unnecessary burden to the local community and will cause the destruction of all wildlife that will be LOST FOREVER. Once the builders concrete over the countryside there is NO GOING BACK… EVER!!!
15 November, 2009 at 5:00 pm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6569414/Green-belt-threat-to-27-towns-and-cities-revealed.html
19 November, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Flood, flood and more flood than 1977,
signed petition, my grandfather farmed just above at Cleeve Common, Dawn and his continuing farmer cousins are already beset by development problems and floods such as 2007 and I saw 2008 as well as 1974 Isbourne etc etc etc 1972 Severn. We do not need global warming just more buildings to flood out. The economics are nonsense.
26 November, 2009 at 6:06 am
I went to the developers exhibition last week where their representative actually called the proposed development “a small town”! They have solved the problem about what to do at the boundary of the site with Wigmoor Farm by putting play space and allotments there.