A DECISION to reject plans for 100 homes in Tiddington has been upheld.
The Rosconn Group applied to build the homes on both sides of Knights Lane but the proposals were turned down by Stratford District Council’s planning committee in March last year.
Residents and councillors had raised fears the scheme could result in Tiddington merging into Stratford while members ruled it would add to the already traffic-choked roads, have a significant visual impact on the area, and result in the loss of agricultural land.
Developers went back to the drawing board before re-submitting plans for 60 homes, which were also rejected for the same reasons in August.
And a third more scaled-down bid for for just 30 homes was rejected by members of the planning committee, who opted to go against officers’ advice at a meeting two months later.
Following the refusals, an appeal was submitted for both the 100-home and 60-home scheme with a joint public inquiry taking place last month.
But this week it was revealed government planning inspector George Baird had backed the council’s original rejection.
Dismissing the appeal, he said: “Currently, the open gap between the southern edge of Tiddington and the built-up edge of Stratford to the south-west is physically and visually significant.
“In either of the proposed housing schemes there would be little or no appreciation of a distinction between Stratford and Tiddington.
“This would result in a loss of openness and a clear sense of the areas of the two being joined.”
