Outline Planning Permission Approved for 2,350 New Homes in Cirencester

Following on from the public consultation and subsequent three-month postponement in September 2016, Cotswold District Council have made the momentous decision to approve outline planning permission for Bathurst Development Limited’s (BDL) 2,350 new homes in Chesterton, Cirencester.

After over 600 objections to the application and 13 hours of debate, 17 councillors voted to recommend the development, nine voted against and three abstained. Councillors deliberated that 2,350 new homes would exceed the requirements of the Local Plan and questioned the 30% affordable housing allocation.

Infrastructure contributions for Cirencester will be issued through Section 106 agreements and will include a new primary school, community centre, £500,000 towards new car parking and £100,000 for town centre improvement which will be delivered in phases.

There has been significant debate, particularly from the Save our Cirencester group, as to the scale of the housing trajectory, rate of building and the volume of traffic and nitrogen dioxide pollution as a result.

The next stage will be BDL signing the Section 106 agreements and discharging conditions whilst development aims to begin by the summer of 2019 with the 20,000 population of Cirencester at risk of increasing by 25%.

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