Plans for more than 200 homes on Southam farmland were eventually approved this week – but only after cross councillors delayed the decision on a road access.

Stratford District Council’s planning committee voted five-three in favour of allowing up to 217 homes to be built on land adjoining Home Farm, Southam, but the separate application for a new roundabout to connect them to a 50 miles-per-hour bypass was deferred.

Plans to build homes on farmland in Southam could come to fruition after a 28-ye...

Committee members could not get their heads around why council planning officers – the employed professionals – advised to hear that application first.

Plans to build homes on farmland to the south of Southam have been approved. Photo copyright The Kler Group.

Planning manager David Jeffery began by addressing that issue, stating the applications must be considered “separately”.

“Officers considered it appropriate because it is possible that the highways scheme could be approved and for different considerations to take place on the (housing) application," he said.

“They are likely to be interrelated but one does not prejudice the other.”

Councillors probed the point, arguing that the roundabout would be an unnecessary eyesore if the housing – the next application on their agenda – got refused.

Mr Jeffery stood by the point that the principle of a roundabout in that location, albeit for potential housing, must be considered irrespective of the outcome on the homes.

An increasingly frustrated Councillor Anne Parry (Con, Wellesbourne North & Rural) wanted a more fulsome explanation, asking: “Why on earth are we discussing this before the housing?”

“If members approve the (housing), there would still be a requirement on the developer to come forward with proposals for access," said Mr Jeffery.

“If members resolved to approve the roundabout that would be very straightforward because you would assume that would be subsumed into the reserved matters (detailed housing plans at a later date).

“If members decline the (roundabout), if they then resolve to approve the (housing), the applicant will have to have some alternative proposal for access when reserved matters come forward.”

The discussion rumbled on with Councillor Malcolm Littlewood (Con, Tysoe) appearing to make an understatement in describing himself as “a little frustrated”.

“The need doesn’t exist yet,” he said of the roundabout.

“If we deferred this until after the next item, life would be a lot easier for everybody. I don’t see why we can’t do that.”

Officers – including legal adviser Sue Mullins – said that councillors had all the information required to make the roundabout call with a still-unconvinced Cllr Parry asking what would happen if the entire committee abstained – declined to vote yes or no.

Ms Mullins indicated the matter would have to be deferred to a future date but reminded councillors they have a statutory duty to make decisions.

“Abstention is not a recommended course of action,” she said.

In the end, Cllr Parry led the call to defer the decision.

“I don’t feel I have sufficient information as to what it is actually going to serve,” she said.

“The application infers it is going to serve potential housing but we don’t have the housing, it needs to be deferred until that application has been considered.”

Stand-in chair Councillor Neil Edden (Lib Dem, Studley South) disagreed.

“It is a highways application that has been deemed acceptable by the highways authority,” he said.

“If I were to apply this to where I live and someone came along with 217 houses, and I scream that I want infrastructure first, then the cart is definitely not before the horse right now.”

Councillor Ashley Jones (Reform UK, Salford Priors & Alcester Rural) declared himself “sympathetic” to that point but said: “We have heard that any subsequent application would come with its own access considerations. This is not the one shot we’d ever get at road (improvements).”

Cllr Edden cast the only vote against deferral.

The meeting was an hour in by then and moved on to the application for the homes.

Arguments against the homes made by Southam Town Council and the area's district councillors included the loss of agricultural land, the suitability of the roundabout to cater for so many homes, its impact on the 50 mph bypass, potentially pushing traffic back into Southam and the impacts on existing infrastructure.

Nevertheless, Cllr Parry “regrettably” moved approval due to the council’s lack of a five-year housing land supply – the key issue behind officers recommending approval.

“It is a large site and this will have a significant impact on Southam Town Council,” she said.

“However, we have a very challenging situation with the five-year land supply. The site is identified (for housing) in the emerging South Warwickshire Local Plan and on that basis, apologies to the town council and all the residents, but I don’t think we have any material planning reason to refuse this."

Cllr Littlewood also voted for but called for the “destruction” of a productive agricultural site to be mitigated.

“Climate change means food production will come under a lot of pressure, we will probably see that in the spring because of the low production due to drought,” he said.

“I’m not sure enough weight has been given to that problem and would ask that we look at mitigation for that loss.

“To grant it without any consideration of the loss of agricultural production would seem to be contrary to the sentiment of this government and the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework).”

How the site will be accessed is likely to be resolved by a decision on the roundabout at a future planning committee meeting – the next one is on Wednesday, September 9. The applicants could also seek to propose an alternative solution but only have one year to resolve details of the development, including access.