Housing plan goes to appeal (From Gazette Series)

Housing plan goes to appeal

A PUBLIC inquiry will decide once and for all whether a housing development will be built on land next to Kingshill Park in Dursley.

Crofton Place Developments, the Kent-based applicant, has appealed against the decision of Stroud District Council's development control committee to refuse planning permission to their project.

The government's planning inspectorate will now appoint a planning inspector to assess all the arguments for and against the application.

The district council and the developers will now submit their cases, while the Kingshill Park Residents Association is also entitled to an input.

The council's planning appeals officer, David Corker, said: "The residents can put their case to the inquiry through a spokesman. They can highlight any genuine planning issue, not just the one the council refused the application on.

"The date for the inquiry has yet to be set, but it is likely to be in the early summer, probably at Ebley Mill and lasting no more than a couple of days." The residents association have already held a meeting this week to work on their strategy.

Kingshill Park resident Marion Harper said: "We are going to put our case together and fight this all the way."