Public meeting to discuss plans for 3,000 homes

Plans for up to 3,000 homes on green belt land will be discussed at a public meeting on Wednesday.

Lightwood Community Group has organised the meeting to give people a say on Stoke-on-Trent City Council's latest local plan proposals.

The group said described them as the equivalent of "building another Blythe Bridge between our communities".

The local plan, which is due to be submitted for examination before the end of the year, aims to show how 19,000 homes will be built in Stoke-on-Trent up until 2040.

The site being considered at Lightwood is between Cocknage Road, Lightwood Road and Woodpark Lane. It is the single largest housing allocation in the plan.

People living in the area have previously raised concerns over the loss of green belt land, drainage issues and the impact on local roads, as well as the presence of Etruria marl on the site.

The community meeting is due to take place at Florence Sports and Social Club, at 19:00 BST on Wednesday.

The council will be holding a further round of consultation on the local plan over the summer.

The Stoke-on-Trent South MP, Allison Gardner, raised the issue in the House of Commons on Thursday, after previously writing to council leader, Jane Ashworth, on the subject.

She said a masterplan needed to be drawn up for the Lightwood site, to ensure any development happens in a co-ordinated way and residents' concerns are addressed.

Gardner said: "[Without a plan] there is a risk of piecemeal development, and my constituents cannot be reassured that there will be the transport, schools, healthcare, protected green spaces and updated water infrastructure that their communities need".

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

Plan will avoid urban sprawl - council leader

Community concern over Labour house-building drive

Ministers want planning reform to boost building