Cotswolds Landscapes under threat by truckstop plans

The Cotwolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is under serious threat…

A transport company, William Gilder Ltd., wants to create an area of tarmac and facilities for 75 trucks and 15 cars in open farmland near Cirencester, above the village of Daglingworth.

Better (brownfield) alternative sites outside the AONB have been identified but as the company bought the fields speculatively, it is ignoring the alternatives and its threat to Gloucestershire’s countryside!

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The original planning application was unanimously refused by the Cotswold District Council planning committee in March 2022 – its reasons were:

1. The proposal would represent harmful and insufficiently justified major development in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
2. The position of the development is in an isolated rural location, remote from existing development and would be visible from many directions.
3. The introduction of surfacing, buildings, along with articulated trucks, cats, lighting and a wide new access road would have intrusive effects on the landscape – giving it an urban feel.

It was also considered that various tests within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) were not satisfactorily addressed. The proposal fails to conserve or enhance the natural beauty of the AONB and would be contrary to policies in the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act 2000, Cotswold District Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Whilst there is huge sympathy for HGV drivers and the need for better facilities, they need to be in the right place. The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is not the right place. If permission were to be granted for this, a precedent would be set that could affect any environmentally sensitive area in the country, which would then become happy hunting grounds for developers.

CPRE Gloucestershire are supporting CARG (Cotswolds AONB Residents Group) to reach their goals to prevent serious damage to the Cotswolds AONB!

To find out more please visit CARG’s website and view CARG’s Statement of Case:

CARG’s Statement of Case

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