Residents pledge to fight homes plan

Angry residents have again pledged

to oppose plans for homes on land on the outskirts of a Staffordshire town.

A planning application has been re-submitted to Cannock Chase Council and will be discussed at a public meeting.

If it is approved it could pave the way for a development of around 85 one-to-five-bed homes near to the Brindley Bank Pumping Station on open green land north-east of Wolseley Road, Rugeley. The access would be between the junction of Bower Lane and the pumping station lane.

Jane Marshall, of Albany Drive, said that residents from Albany Drive, The Beeches, Hampton Court and Bower Lane planned to turn up in force at the next Rugeley Forum Meeting on April 22 .

She added that residents were writing to the council and Staffordshire Highways with their objections to the plans.

Seabridge Property submitted and withdrew an application in June last year after meeting stiff opposition from residents.

Mrs Marshall said: "We're just doing the same as we did last time.

"None of the plans have changed at all as far as we are concerned, except that they want to put a roundabout in at the bottom of Bower Lane and residents of Bower Lane are even less happy about that than they were about the previous application.

"We're just all writing letters to the council and to highways to make our objections known.

"The meeting at the Rose Theatre in Rugeley will give everyone the chance to air their concerns like we did the last time the plans were submitted."

The residents are objecting on the grounds that any extra housing would generate too much traffic for the roads to handle as well as the impact on wildlife in the area.

The council's head of planning, John Heminsley said that the resubmitted plans only differed from the original plans in that they provided more information about impact the development would have on woodland and traffic as well as a flood risk assessment.

The layout of proposed homes has also been changed slightly to allow better views of the Grade II listed pumping station.