A CONTROVERSIAL planning application, which could see 2,350 homes built on the edge of Cirencester, is to go before the town council’s planning committee on Thursday (May 18).

The committee is to decide whether to approve a report which concludes that the traffic impacts generated by the proposed site on Chesterton Farm will not severely affect areas to the south and east.

Both Cotswold District and Gloucestershire County Councils had requested the report be prepared by i-Transport which looks in detail at the severity of traffic, namely on Siddington, South Cerney and Ewen.

The report concludes: “The residual cumulative impacts of development on areas to the south and east of the site are not severe.”

On January 17, the town council urged CDC to adopt the Local Plan before voting on the outline planning application – which has previously been slated for late June or July.

This is in line with the views of campaign group Save Our Cirencester (SOC), who have long opposed Bathurst Development Ltd’s application to build the homes on Chesterton Farm.

Plans for the proposed estate have been developed to coincide with CDC's Local Plan as a strategic site to take much of the government’s housing allocation for the district in one area, and protect against future speculative applications.

Cllr Stuart Tarr, town council planning committee chairman, told the Standard this week that “unless compelling evidence” comes forward which contradicts what has already been presented, “the position of the town council” is “likely to remain unchanged”.

“It will of course be for CDC, when the Chesterton Farm outline planning application is brought before them for determination, to be satisfied on this point and on other highways and major infrastructure matters,” he added.

A CDC spokesman said he could not confirm the date of the full council meeting, at which councillors will vote on the Chesterton scheme.

“It is expected that this date will be after the submission of the Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate and in advance of the Local Plan Examination in Public (EiP),” he said.

“If the application is approved by full council, there will be a period of time in which a legal agreement securing infrastructure contributions will be finalised.”

He said if, before a decision notice is issued, anything arises from the EiP that is considered to be “material” to the consideration of the outline planning application, the application will be referred back to full council.

“If a decision is ready to be issued in advance of the adoption of the new Local Plan, CDC will have to refer the application to Secretary of State (SoS) in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009,” the spokesman added.

The SoS will then have 21 days to decide whether the application is to be called in or not.

If more time is needed, the SoS can issue a holding direction under Article 25 of the Town & Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2010.

The call-in process would result in the application being considered at a public inquiry and a planning inspector would make recommendations to the SoS, who would make the final decision.

Cllr Tarr said: “The involvement of the Secretary of State in this process, which could exceptionally result in the application being called in and considered at a public inquiry in which a planning inspector would make recommendations to the SoS who would make the final decision, should give confidence that the right checks and balances are in place to ensure that the application has been fully and objectively considered before irrevocable decisions are taken."

Speaking on behalf of SOC, Patrick Moylan said the group would continue to “find planning reasons why this application should be refused”.

“Not least of which is the harm it would cause to a special town because of this single site's disproportionate size which utterly fails to properly meet the wider district's housing needs,” he added.

The application, submitted by Bathurst Development Ltd, includes up to 100 units of student accommodation and 60 homes for the elderly, as well as a primary school, neighbourhood centre, employment land and playing fields.