Date set for planning inquiry into 505-home Whitford Road proposal - The Bromsgrove Standard

Date set for planning inquiry into 505-home Whitford Road proposal

Bromsgrove Editorial 29th Feb, 2020   0

A DATE has been set for the public inquiry into the controversial plan to build 505 homes on land off Whitford Road.

The hearing, which starts at 10am on May 19 at Parkside Hall, is expected to last four days.

It follows an appeal by developers Catesby Estates and Miller Homes after the council threw out the plans which are split across two sites.

The main site in the application, off Whitford Road, has 490 properties, a shop, new access roads, public open space and landscaping planned for it.




The second site would see the Greyhound Inn pub bulldozed to make way for 15 homes and a new roundabout.

The public inquiry means determining the application has now been taken out of the authority’s hands.


But, after lengthy, lively debate at a public meeting at a packed Holiday Inn, Bromsgrove District Council’s planing committee has maintained its stance that the scheme would have an unacceptable impact on highways safety and severe effects on the road network.

The issues discussed at the meeting will now form the council’s case for the public inquiry.

Con Luke Mallett, who has campaigned on the issues affecting the development along with Whitford Vale Voice, said “The Planning Committee made absolutely the right decision to refuse planning permission on grounds of highways safety and the severe impact on traffic.

“The developers and the highways authority have consistently failed to understand the local traffic issues and their obligations in terms of demonstrating that they could provide safe and suitable access to the proposed sites.

“It has been our requests for information that have prompted the developers to jump the gun and attempt to sidestep local democracy by going to appeal.

“These developers do not care about Bromsgrove, only their bottom line.

“Whitford Vale Voice and I will continue to stand up for local communities who would be unacceptably impacted by this development.”

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