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Bearley Training Centre Decision Put Off by Stratford Councillors

The application had not been advertised for long enough, and from 31 October it may be decided by officers instead. Tredington homes approved; Edgehill deferred.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Snitterfield Road running through Bearley village, with houses and grass verges
Snitterfield Road, Bearley. Photo: David P Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0

Stratford district councillors put off a decision on the construction training centre at Snitterfield Airfield, between Bearley and Snitterfield, on Wednesday 28 October, because the application had not been advertised for long enough. The Planning Committee heard that it counts as a major application by site area, so it has to be advertised for three weeks first. That advert now runs until 19 November.

On this page
  1. What the plan is
  2. What the speakers said
  3. The other decisions

Because the council’s new rules start on 31 October, the case may not come back to councillors at all. Officers told the meeting that if it still looks like a grant and passes the new “gateway” test, it will be decided by officers. If the gatekeepers send it back to committee, the speakers can address councillors again.

What the plan is

LP Training Services wants retrospective permission (26/00216/FUL) to keep using farmland on the airfield, off Snitterfield Road, as a training centre with cabins. Trainees learn to use heavy machinery such as diggers on a practical training ground next to the existing industrial units. The site straddles the Bearley and Snitterfield parish boundary, close to the Bearley Bushes Site of Special Scientific Interest.

What the speakers said

Councillors agreed to hear the two registered speakers anyway. The chair of Bearley Parish Council welcomed a habitat management plan and a later start time, but said the green belt site was “not the right place for heavy industrial activity”, and that reversing machines can be heard in homes at the east end of the village. He asked the council to look at all the activity on the airfield together before approving more, mentioning a larger scrap metal application by Gibbs that is due to come forward, and asked for a 9am start so traffic is off the road at school time.

Speaking for the company, its agent said the centre runs apprenticeships, NVQ testing and subsidised training for small firms, and that the nearest similar centre is in Birmingham. She said a noise assessment found a low impact, environmental health has no objection if outdoor practical training starts no earlier than 9am, which the company accepts, and highways and ecology officers have no objection.

The other decisions

  • Tredington: four detached homes at Fosse Close, Old Fosse Way (25/02906/FUL) were approved unanimously, with an extra drainage condition.
  • Edgehill: a wider opening, gates and a driveway at Cromwell Cottage (26/00951/FUL) were deferred so the applicant can answer the county council’s highways objection. Officers had recommended refusal.

All three were held over from the 21 October meeting, which adjourned after refusing homes at Stockton. Why most applications will now be decided by officers, and the rest of this week’s applications are in Planning this week. There’s more on the airfield in our story on the Bearley scrap metal yard plan.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

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