"Borderline Undemocratic" - Row over Stoke Golding development as Councillor launches petition

Conservative Councillor Jonathan Collett claims Liberal Democrats 'ran roughshod' over the views of residents.

Controversial plans to build 65 houses on green space east of Roseway were passed by Hinckley and Bosworth borough council, despite receiving 410 letters from residents objecting to the project.

This has prompted the Conservative Councillor for Ambien Ward, Jonathan Collett, to start a petition which has already garnered over 550 signatures.

In the petition he said, "This beautiful, historic village has seen huge development in recent years and does not have the infrastructure to cope with further development. There are concerns with regard to destruction of beautiful countryside, highway safety and flooding.

"We call upon Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council to actually listen to local people and take their views into account, acting democratically when considering future developments in Stoke Golding."

Speaking to Fosse107, Councillor Collett told us that the Liberal Democrat councillors, "Disregarded the unanimous view of residents" that the plans should be rejected.

"It was borderline undemocratic," he added.

"The Liberal Democrat position is particularly bad because in their literature they're in favour of green spaces and listening to residents so to vote in this way just looks like utter hypocrisy."

Liberal Democrat councillors have always insisted that their hands were tied by government policy.

Councillor David Bill told Fosse 107, "There is a real story here. The Government is determined to see 300,000 houses built every year and is using every means at its disposal to bring this about. 

"Here in Hinckley & Bosworth we have been instructed to build something like 9000 more homes and this means that every town and village is going to take its fair share."

"Nobody wants it near them but unfortunately they have to be built and they are going to be built."

"At the other end of Stoke Golding the planning committee resisted a development off Wykin Lane but we cannot defend every field.

"I hope that the Stoke Golding people who feel so strongly about Roseway will also be joining those of us who have put in our objections to Wykin Lane."

Although the petition is doing well and there reportedly still a lot of anger amongst the community, very little can be done to stop the development. 

Councillor Bill hopes that both parties can work together in future to make sure further developments don't happen on green spaces. 

"I personally think we should pay far more attention to protecting the countryside. I'm only sorry we can't protect all of it," he said.