A FORMAL complaint against the decision to allow more than 40 new homes near Ross-on-Wye has been lodged by the town council.

EG Carter and Co Ltd builders of Gloucester appealed after Herefordshire Council turned down a bid to build 44 affordable homes on the Wye Valley AONB greenfield site between Ross-on-Wye’s Middleton Avenue and Hawthorne Lane.

More than 200 people signed petitions opposing the development for the Fortis Housing Association scheme at Stoney Stile near Archenfield Road, while planners also received more than 70 objection letters.

And now, in a letter to Mr Philip Major at the Planning Inspectorate, a ‘hugely disappointed’ Ross-on-Wye Town Council has said the decision to overturn the original planning decision had been met with ‘incredulity and dissapointment’.

“Your decision to overturn the extremely well set-out case put forward in the adopted Ross-on-Wye Neighbourhood Plan, to limit the development to 15 dwellings with associated allotments and green space was met with incredulity and disappointment,” the letter states.

“The Ross-on-Wye Town Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), a legal planning document, was generated with wide consultation including Herefordshire Planning Officers, external examiners, and passed various levels of external scrutiny prior to being overwhelmingly endorsed by the residents of Ross-on-Wye. It was shortlisted for a Royal Town Planning Institute West Midlands Award and received a Commendation.

“The NDP is a whole Neighbourhood Plan to meet a variety of competing objectives: the need for houses (including affordable homes), allotments, economic employment, climate change, design, open spaces and play facilities. Your decision, was based upon a single issue. I.e. affordable homes.

“The plan including housing provision for over 110% of the new housing minimum required to be included within the Town’s settlement boundary. Herefordshire as a whole has a 6.9 year housing land supply.

“The planning decision has effectively made it more difficult to achieve the plan’s objectives and created open season over all future development within the Town.

“It should be noted that a play park specifically for the development is not really necessary with three play parks for younger children with approximately 10 minutes walk, and older Children two play parks (including the skatepark) within 20 minutes.

“A considerable amount of time, effort and resources went into the creation of the Ross-on-Wye Neighbourhood Plan, which should be considered as a blueprint for the future of Ross as agreed by its residents. It is hugely disappointing that these aims, desires and ambitions have in this instance been ignored.”

Phil Angus, who spoke for local residents opposing the application at the appeal hearing, said he was astonished that “valid concerns” put forward, such as poor drainage, traffic congestion, and its AONB location, were “given little or no weight” by the inspector, who accepted that the county’s shortfall in suitable housing was a significant factor.

“It would appear that central government’s edict to ‘build, build, build’ holds more sway than the impact that this development will have on the local community,” said Mr Angus.

“Not only has a valuable and well-used piece of green space been lost, but residents on the periphery of this proposed build are going to be blighted by increased traffic and noise, especially those living in Middleton Avenue.”

Opponents also slammed what they say is the “scant regard” given to the recently-published Ross Neighbourhood Development Plan, which says the town has already exceeded its quota of new housing with several major developments, and the Stoney Stile site is suitable for no more than 15 dwellings.

Approving the scheme with a raft of conditions, planning inspector Philip Major pointed to “the substantial benefit of providing a significant number of affordable homes, and the lack of any tangible evidence that the aspiration to provide allotments or more extensive areas of open space is likely to be achievable”.

“The appeal site has been accepted as being suitable for housing, and it is only the quantity of housing and degree of open space/allotments which is at issue,” he ruled.

“Taking these matters together it is my judgement that the proposal accords with the development plan as a whole and should therefore be permitted subject to conditions.”

He also dismissed traffic safety concerns, saying: “It was confirmed at the hearing that it is likely that a suitable scheme of highways design could be achieved which would preclude any unacceptable harm to safety or severe residual cumulative impacts.”

That flew in the face of concerns raised by residents, including the proximity of Ashfield Primary School, with one describing Archenfield Road as “a death trap”.

“The traffic in Middleton Avenue is single file at the best of times but at school collecting times there are cars parked everywhere,” said Geoff Healey.

The plan was rejected by Herefordshire Council planners more than a year ago on the grounds that 100 per cent affordable housing breached its conditions of mixed use development.

But a report on behalf of the appeal said the affordable housing situation was worsening in the county, with 1,328 people on the waiting list, “and will not be addressed unless more housing is delivered to meet the demands of all parts of the community.”

The report also cited the council’s “lack of five-year housing land supply”, and claimed the “proposals are not particularly dense”.

Mr Angus said after the ruling: “Of some solace is that the appeal comes with a raft of conditions for the developer to meet, including how he intends to handle the chronic drainage problem, and to ensure a safe and meaningful traffic plan.

“We will be looking for full visibility of the developer’s response to these conditions, so that we can be confident that they are being met in full.”