HUNDREDS took part in a protest march against plans for a proposed new town in south Warwickshire.
Some 200 residents joined the protest in Stratford on Saturday November 8 against plans for up to 10,000 new homes next to the villages of Bearley and Wilmcote.
The demonstrators marched along the Birmingham Road, starting from outside Chutney’s, near Tesco.
The protest was organised by Bearley Wilmcote Action Group (BWAG).
Joint leader Janine Lee said: “This was our moment to show Stratford that the Bearley Wilmcote plan affects everyone.
“If approved, it will choke our roads, overwhelm local services, and permanently change the character of Stratford itself as well as our villages. There are currently just under 10,000 vehicles using the A3400 Birmingham Road through Stratford. 10,000 new homes means 12,000 more vehicles potentially using this road, which as everyone locally knows, cannot handle its current traffic, let alone increase its capacity. Yet the plan proposes to more than double its volume of traffic – it’s an unsustainable, ill-conceived plan.”
Several local councillors joined in the protest.
Stratford district councillor for Wilmcote Thom Holmes said: “Stratford is the third fastest growing local authority in the country. That’s massive. We’ve more than paid our fair share but the government’s telling us to go faster and harder and we need a more reasonable approach that isn’t going to slap whole new towns in our areas and change the character of our villages from what makes them so attractive and lovely to live in.”
District councillor for Brailes and Compton Sarah Whalley-Hoggins added: “I think that the implication for residents if this number of houses goes ahead will be life-changing for all of us and I think as councillors we must protest about this. It is unsustainable development of the worst kind. We need the right houses in the right places and this is the wrong houses and in the wrong place.”
The development is one of several potential options laid out in the South Warwickshire Local Plan, being drawn up by both Stratford and Warwick district councils, to increase housing in the area.
Stratford District Council has previously stated not all the proposed locations within the plan would ultimately be needed to meet the area’s needs and the councils would be undertaking further analysis to conclude which locations should form part of south Warwickshire’s growth strategy.
Visit www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp for further details.
