Decision on 'hostile' plan to build 25 houses near playground in Stretton-on-Dunsmore is delayed

A Rugby Borough Council planning meeting due to be held on February 3 has been rescheduled after the livestream failed to work.

The planning committee was set to decide whether to approve five planning applications - some of which have proved very controversial with residents.

Owing to social-distancing measures, council meetings are now held remotely, with members of the public and press being able to view them through a livestream.

The Advertiser had scheduled a reporter to cover the meeting, but technical difficulties with the livestream mean the meeting has now been rescheduled to 5.30pm on Wednesday, February 24.

Council officers advise councillors to throw out application to build 25 houses on scrubland in Stretton-on-Dunsmore

One of the applications due to be heard was from Deeley Homes, which is seeking permission to build 25 houses on land to the south of Plott Lane, with the proposed estate also connecting with Orchard Way.

In a report prepared for councillors, Rugby council officers recommended that the application be refused on the basis it would have a negative impact on nearby trees and remove a prime newt habitat.

Residents and Stretton-on-Dunsmore Parish Council also fielded robust objections to the proposal.

Chief among the concerns of residents was how the applicants wanted to have a road used to access the nearby playground to be used as one of the entrances to the estate.

A spokesperson for Stretton Scout Group told the council that the safety of its 27 members might be compromised if the access road to the playground was also used as an entrance to the estate.

Residents also raised concerns over flooding, stating water sometimes 'flows like a river' on Plott Lane.

The parish council, which controls the land, described the proposal as a 'hostile application' - explaining that the applicant has made no attempt to engage with the them to reach an agreement on purchase, rent or hire of the site.

They also point out that the land was previously Green Belt.

To learn more about the application, visit planning.agileapplications.co.uk/rugby/search-applications and search for reference R20/0285.

Visit www.rugby.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/1146/planning_committee/attachment/3018 to see the full agenda for the meeting.