Villagers fight against 1,200 homes plan

The local plan is due to be submitted to the government in November 2026

Residents in a village in Stoke-on-Trent are campaigning against plans to build up to 1,200 homes on council-owned farmland .

Monday is the last day for people living in the city to have their say on the council's draft local plan, which sets out future development, where businesses and infrastructure should be built, and crucially for many residents 18,528 new homes.

Darren Bamford is from the Packmoor Community Liaison Group, calling for the Packmoor site to be ruled out, saying the green space was a privilege, and "worth defending".

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing and planning, said the views of local residents would be taken into account.

Council leaders said the local plan would ensure Stoke-on-Trent had the homes, jobs and infrastructure it needed over the coming years, supporting economic growth and sustainable development.

The local authority is under pressure to meet the government's target to build 1.5 million homes, by delivering 948 properties a year.

Several other communities have been angered by green spaces earmarked for development, with campaigns in areas such as Lightwood, Norton Green, Bucknall, and Trentham.

Residents Louise Vincent and Darren Bamford told councillors villagers in Packmoor were united against the plans

Packmoor resident Louise Vincent claims unclear communication about the plan, particularly how a consultation was handled, had caused anger in the community.

She said if the proposals had been better explained villagers might be more "open minded" towards them.

Asked whether residents were being Nimbys (Not In My Backyard) or Bananas (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone), Darren Bamford said the community did understand the wider situation.

"I don't think as a community we are against zero build," he said, but added that any building had to be proportionate and the current figures for the area were "just way way way too high".

So strong is the feeling in this community that ranks have broken within the city council. David Mountford represents the Great Chell and Packmoor ward.

He recently defected from the Labour party, which currently controls the authority, to join the new Potteries Party.

'Total wipeout'

Mr Mountford said residents "do not want Great Chell and Packmoor treated as a dumping ground for developments that other areas refuse to take".

The council's opposition group leader, Conservative Daniel Jellyman, described Stoke-on-Trent's draft local plan as a "total wipeout of the city's green belt".

He argued more brownfield sites should be considered for development, and cited the success of levelling up projects such as the goods yard, a former industrial site transformed into a canal-side apartment block, as a way to bring more housing into the city.

The local plan will go through two rounds of consultation before being submitted to the government in November 2026.