Protesters preparing for battle on houses

Final details about a 5,000-home development on the outskirts of Lichfield have finally been submitted - moving the plans a step closer to reality.

Protesters fighting against the planned development in Fradley are hoping the arrival of the weighty, 65 page document will see an end to the prolonged application process and a date set for a decision on the development.

The Curborough Consortium originally submitted an application to Lichfield District Council for the scheme back in April, but six months later it is still yet to come before the planning bosses.

Campaigners formed an action group, Fradley Against Curborough Town, to fight housing plans in the area, and have claimed the developers were being given an unfair advantage in their application because they had spent so much time tweaking them.

But officers at Lichfield District Council said there could be no "usual" time frame for assessing the application, because it was the largest the authority had ever dealt with.

Richard Holloway, chairman of the group, said he hoped a date would now be set by planning bosses to make up their minds on the development.

The ambitious plans for the land at Curborough includes three schools, restaurants, pubs, a community centre and shops as well as 5,000 homes.

Since plans were first submitted earlier this year the proposals have attracted fierce criticism. Critics claim a development would destroy the surrounding rural communities.