Plans for hundreds of homes on MoD site approved

Plans to build hundreds of homes on farmland and an army site have been approved by councillors.

The development will see up to 420 new homes built near Sandon Road and the A513 Beaconside on the north edge of Stafford, including land formerly used by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Objectors to the proposal, submitted by Home England, had raised concerns about a loss of green space and an increase in traffic in the area.

Councillors at Stafford Borough Council voted in favour of the plans during a meeting of the planning committee.

The local authority had applied for outline planning permission for the residential development and access to the site from Beaconside and Sandon Road.

Hopton and Coton Parish Council objected to the scheme and suggested the site would be better used as a nature reserve.

A decision on the development was postponed by the planning committee in March, so more information could be sought about potential highway issues and biodiversity.

However at Wednesday's meeting, councillor Andy McNaughton explained the development, on brownfield land, was a "matter of housing need".

"We have a housing crisis at the moment and because of that we need to alleviate that housing crisis," he said.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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