Plea for more time over 4,800 homes proposal

We recently reported that the deadline for consultation on a brand new ‘garden village’ near Lighthorne and Gaydon had been extended by Stratford District Council (SDC).

In fact, the news was misinterpreted by many and the extension was for parish councils only.

But villagers in Lighthorne, who are already up in arms about he plans, say this is unfair on them.

Lighthorne parish council chairman Laura Steele said: “It is a denial of democracy that ordinary people are not being given extra time.

“One could argue that the residents are the ones who need it, as they have less access to advice.

“In all this confusion, residents may now wrongly believe that they have extra time and then find their comments arrive too late to be taken into account.”

Cllr Steele, a barrister, said she first heard of the extended deadline indirectly from Cllr Chris Saint, the Tory leader on SDC.

When she sought to extend it further in an email exchange with SDC planning officer Dave Nash, she was told that the extension was for parish councils only.

She added: “It demonstrates an utter lack of respect on the part of the elected members to their constituents.

“It reinforces the overriding impression that the strongly-held views and legitimate concerns of ordinary people are irrelevant to the district council and their masterplan.”

The Courier and Weekly News first revealed the plans for the 4,800 homes 
on July 19 .