Plan for 1,600 homes 'a huge shock', say villagers

Campaigners from a village earmarked for more than 1,600 new homes say it was "a huge shock" to hear of the plans.

There are currently about 300 homes in Down Ampney but that figure may increase by 500% under Cotswold District Council's proposed Local Plan, which lists the village as one of its strategic sites.

With the Local Plan currently in the consultation phase, the Down Ampney Action Group has been formed, and Phil Fryer Ward from the group said the growth would "steamroller through the community".

Mike Evemy, leader of Cotswold District Council, said the council was aware of site-specific concerns and encouraged residents to take part in the consultation.

In July, Cotswold District Council revealed it had selected 10 strategic sites where it wants to see 17,918 homes built by 2043 as part of its new and updated Local Plan, along with smaller sites.

The plans would see homes - including affordable housing - built to the north, east and south of Down Ampney, along with a new or expanded primary school, green corridors, and new drainage systems.

At a previous stage of the Local Plan, 369 homes were allocated for Down Ampney, and Jane Dickson, chair of the action group, said it was "a huge shock" to hear of the rise.

Sewage and flooding are among Dickson's concerns about the plan. The BBC previously reported how a sewage treatment plant discharged untreated waste into a brook in Down Ampney for more than six weeks.

"It's a significant number of houses in a very rural area which actually has none of the infrastructure yet to support it, and there's very little in the plan that tells us that infrastructure is deliverable," Dickson said.

She added some of the planned homes for the "very small rural village with a close community" would be very near to the end of the runway at RAF Fairford.

Fryer Ward said: "We want to not just raise funds so that we can hire professional planning and legal advice to help us really scrutinise the evidence behind all of this and make sure that we're telling everybody the real detail of it, because it's so impenetrable to regular residents."

He said residents have "never been opposed to the organic growth of the village", but claimed the number of homes planned would make the village a similar size as nearby Fairford.

The consultation on the Local Plan will close on 3 November.

Evemy said the council recognises the proposals have prompted strong views, but added it has a responsibility to "plan for the homes the district needs and to ensure growth is delivered in a coordinated and sustainable way".

"We are also aware of concerns relating to specific sites, including proximity to RAF Fairford, and these are exactly the sort of matters we want people to comment on through the consultation," he said.

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