The Stafford Borough Plan - A Missed Opportunity
These pages (Borough Plan and Burleyfields) follow the 'saga' of the Stafford Borough Plan which was initially published in 2011. It was greeted with mixed feelings in Doxey since it confirmed the earlier allocation of the area south of 'Doxey Road' for housing development but provided a framework to ensure that developers provided adequate facilities and that local residents were consulted. It was felt that when the developments took place they would provide extra benefits for the area such as shops, a medical centre and improved and extended recreational facilities.
Unfortunately the good intentions failed as soon as the first planning application was received. The Borough Council allowed the developers to ignore the procedures laid down and took no notice of the consultations that did take place.
The Plan as finally adopted in June 2014 can be read here
This first part of the development -
Mallard Walk is now (Feb 2017) underway and local residents will have to see how it turns out.
nb. The items on these pages are generally presented as they were originally published. The layout may have changed but the content hasn't [apart from deleting references to 'long departed' web pages]. They may not provide a complete (or unbiased !) point of view.
Initial Draft Publication (Sept-2011)
The Plan for for Stafford Borough
Big changes for Doxey ?
A new draft plan has been published for Stafford Borough.
In it are proposals for building over 5,500 new houses in sites to the North , East and West of Stafford.
The plan for Western Stafford will have huge implications for Doxey.
The main proposal is to allow 2,200 houses to be built with 'retail
facilities, a primary school, a library service, health facilities
and public open space'. In addition there will be additional business
space to create new jobs.
The area involved (see Map below) is almost all the remaining open space
between Doxey, Castletown, Castlefields, Stafford Golf Club and the
M6. It includes :
- The current Saint-Gobain works and car park
- The Castle Works site
- The land between Doxey and the Greenway
- The land south of the Greenway stretching to the new Stafford Castle Golf
Club (currently being re-built to surround Stafford Castle)
- The area occupied by Stafford Rugby Club adjoining Kingsway
The plan will be going out for consultation during September and October. We will be invited to comment.
In total the proposals provide for an extra 7,000 houses in Stafford
Borough these would be split
- 2,200 in Doxey,Castlefields
- 2,700 to the north of Beaconside from the A34 to the MOD site near Sandon Road
- 600 on the East of Stafford between the University , the Crematorium and St
Thomas' Lane
- 500 in Stone
- 1,500 in rural areas (adjoining Seighford, Eccleshall etc)
Where can you see the plans ?
[Currently (20th Sept 2011) the plans are described on the Stafford Borough website :]
A summary of the plans has been published as a booklet
which should be generally available. The procedure for making
comments will be made clear.
The plans raise some interesting points
- The development seems to depend on the construction of a road link from
Martin Drive on Castlefields to Doxey Road. This was part of the
Western Access Improvement Scheme which seemed to have been dropped.
The current road from Doxey to the town centre could not cope.
- The existing water supply and sewerage facilities will need to be
substantially enhanced.
- The area allocated for 'Employment' is the site of the rugby pitches while
the exiting Castle Works area is designated for 'Housing'. This seems
very strange.
Notes
- The plan is only a draft, it may well be dropped or have major changes.
- The plan is for a 20 year period (until 2031).
- Many of the proposals originally included in the last plan (20 years ago) were dropped or
amended.
- It is up to residents and parish councils to make their views clear.
The Plan for Western Stafford
(click on map for larger version)
-The beige coloured areas are allocated to 'Housing' including services
and associated open space.
-The blue areas are for 'Employment' (offices, warehouse workshops etc)
-The dark red roads are part the proposed new Western Access Route on which
the Development plans seem to depend. The lighter red roads are the
links to existing roads. (nb. the line of the roads within the new
development have not been decided)
Note: This map is NOT OFFICIAL - it is only our understanding of the areas
affected and possible road lines.
Parish Meeting to discuss plans (Oct-2011)
Parish Meeting to discuss Borough Plan - 6th October at William Sutton Centre
At a meeting attended
by about 20 people, the Borough Council's development plan for the
next 20 years was discussed. Most of discussion centred on the plan
to allow the building of an additional 2,200 houses in the area
between Castletown, Doxey and the Castle.
The main concern was
that if the houses had to be built, and not everyone was convinced
they all had to be, the road system should be put in place ahead of
any building. The existing road from Castletown is already very busy
during rush hours with traffic from outlying villages such as
Seighford, Haughton and Gnosall as well as Doxey. If the road is
blocked for any reason the emergency services cannot react to
accidents on the M6 in the minimum acceptable time.
The draft Borough Plan
states that "Development west of Stafford will need the Western
Access Improvement Scheme to be delivered between Martin Drive and
Doxey Road with associated junction improvements due to lack of local
road network connections". This
was emphasised by our Parish Councillors, our two Borough Councillors
(Peter Goodland and Isabella Davies), our County Councillor, Mark
Winnington and James Cantrill representing our MP Jeremy Lefroy.
The
'zoning' of some areas for housing/employment raised some concerns :
- The Saint-Gobain (Universal) Carpark for housing seems unwise given the
proximity of the railway and the danger of flooding.
- The development of the Stafford Rugby Club's pitches for 'employment'
would result in the loss of much needed recreation space and the
blocking of an essential 'green lung'.
- Allocating the Castle Works site for housing and the rugby pitches for
employment seems perverse.
At the end of meeting the chairman Nigel Barnett asked everyone who had
concerns to write/email to the Borough with copies to the Parish
Council.
A booklet is available from the Borough Council
Comments can be made (by 21st October) by letter, email or online
[ nb. links to deleted pages removed ]
Results of Consultation (Dec 2011?)
Borough Plan - Initial Consultation ended - We await the result
The initial consultation period on the Borough Plan has now ended.
The
borough has received over 1000 comments and over 600 people attended
the various meetings.
[The Borough Council has produced a newsletter on the plan and the next stages.]
The following is taken from the newsletter
The above concerns reflect those that were made by Doxey residents and the exhibitions and the public meeting.
The 'final' plan should be published in Jan-Feb 2012, submitted to the
Secretary of State in spring with a public examination in the summer
before adoption at the 'end of 2012'.