Ecotricity

Survey Results

Thanks you to the 121 people who took time to participate in the ECN survey, which asked for residents’ views on the Ecotricity football stadium and business park planning application.

There were a total of 111 objectors, 89 of whom requested their views be sent on to Stroud DC, which we have done. There were a total of 10 support statements, only 3 of which gave Eastington addresses.

Most of the objectors gave multiple reasons, broadly falling into the following categories:

• Traffic ( included in over 80% of the total responses)
• Detriment to our rural character and way of life (42%) Ecological destruction (40%)
• Defying the local plan (34%) Noise and light pollution (33%)
• No benefit to the area (33%) Detriment to William Morris (24%)
• Other reasons given included the fact that the development was too big for the surrounding infrastructure, that it would be a blot on the AONB landscape and that it would be detrimental to Stroud town centre. Also mentioned was the security concern associated with up to 5000 ‘strangers’ regularly descending upon the (unpoliced) village.

It was clear that, from this sample, Eastington is almost wholly against all aspects of these proposals, and ECN will, therefore, endeavour to represent this view.

Update

It is being reported that Dale Vince is planning to submit a new application, omitting the business park and locating the football stadium on the north side of the A419. This may sound like an improvement but we believe that it is a cynical manoeuvre. The Stadium alone, next to the existing WoS developments, will be much harder to defend against, and if this is granted (still on land not in the Local Development Plan) who knows where it might lead a little later on.

We urge you all to watch for this new application, and to re-submit your objections to SDC, since if it is classified as a ‘new’ application, the previous comments and objections are NOT automatically carried forward.