Residents oppose plans to build 1,500 homes in town

MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (fourth from right) held a meeting in Moreton-in-Marsh to discuss the local plan

Hundreds of people are opposing plans which could see more than 1,500 new homes built in a market town.

Cotswold District Council's draft local plan includes proposals for 3,300 homes across the area by 2041.

But Moreton-in-Marsh residents are particularly concerned as their town looks set to receive the majority of the new housing.

Council cabinet member Juliet Layton said it was "essential" to look at strategic sites to keep up with government housing requirements and avoid speculative developments overriding the local plan.

The plans come on top of the 900 homes built in Moreton-in-Marsh since 2011.

Objectors said current infrastructure is incapable of supporting more people, and 96% of 1,334 people who took part in a recent survey were against the proposals.

Residents said the new development is "excessive", and that roads, particularly the Fosse Way, are already heavily congested, services are overstretched, and the sewage system requires an upgrade.

North Cotswold MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown formally objected to Moreton's housing allocation in April, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service..

"I will work alongside [residents] and any other parties to persuade the council to draw up more reasonable and proportionate plans for the town," he said.

'Properly planned'

Ms Layton said the council has more than seven years of housing land in its current local plan - more than the five years required - to avoid speculative developments being successful.

Deputy leader Mike Evemy said he understood concerns about expansion.

“It’s the role of public representatives to understand the situation and explain to residents that the choice about housing development is whether it is properly planned by local councils... or whether we get speculative developments granted on appeal by planning inspectors."