Under threat of change from Green belt to the so called 'Grey Belt'.
Consultation will run between Monday 3 August and Monday 14 September 2026
BL-3 is a block of beautiful greenbelt land to the East of Caverswall Lane, located within the Stoke-on-Trent county council area. This abuts the Staffordshire Moorland Greenbelt, leaving no buffer on the Stoke side, any development here will be visible to residents in Caverswall and the western side of Blythe Bridge. The land can be seen in the drone photograph below, the lush green immediately to the right of the woodland. The woodland is now also at risk.
B-3 is also marked in red on the maps below
Under threat of change from Green belt to the so called Grey Belt.
URGENT UPDATE! This site has now been enlarged, so now includes the established woodland on the southern edge!
OPPOSE THIS DEVELOPMENT HERE (you can add comments and submit your response, although typically it's not straight-forward, you will need to create a user account:
Use either of these links to send your views:
https://consult.stoke.gov.uk/kpse/event/54587284-2404-4E37-B778-847B23252CF7
https://consult.stoke.gov.uk/kpse/event/54587284-2404-4E37-B778-847B23252CF7/section/6523483
Local plan and site assessment can be viewed here:
Points to consider:
- Development of BL-3 would be a flagrant violation of the National Planning Policy
Framework (December 2024) paragraph 143, points a and c.
a) to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;
c) to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
It clearly fails two of the safeguards as listed above. - In addition, flooding is a known issue in this area, and with recent development to the west
of Caverswall Lane there are now water run off concerns and flooding is common place in
the autumn and winter months. - Caverswall Lane cannot cope with any additional traffic demands, accidents are already
frequent and is virtually impassable for pedestrians and cyclists due to dangers posed by
motor vehicles on such a narrow lane. - This proposal is unsuitable, the majority of BL-3 is currently farmed and has been
productively farmed for many years, this would be a tragic loss of a Stoke-on-Trent green
space, something already lacking for the city area. - The Stoke-on-Trent Green belt policy states [Green Belt Assessment Part 4, 29th May 2026]:
The Green Belt in Stoke-on-Trent forms part of the wider North Staffordshire Green Belt. This was originally defined in 1967 and was then reassessed through the Staffordshire Structure Plan 19862001 however no alterations were made to the boundaries.
At paragraph 2.03, it sets out the established aims of the Green Belt in North Staffordshire, as originally approved by the County Council in 1967. This is as follows:
“a) To limit the expansion into adjoining open country of the urban areas of North Staffordshire forming part of the Potteries Conurbation.
b) To prevent the following towns and settlements in the adjoining open area from merging with the Potteries Conurbation and with other settlements;
The built up areas of Kidsgrove and Biddulph; The settlements of Brown Edge, Endon, Stanley, Bagnall, Stanley Moor, Norton Green, Baddeley Green, Baddeley Edge, Light Oaks, Werrington, Cellarhead, Caverswall, Cookshill, Blythe Bridge, Forsbrook, Meir Heath, Barlaston, Alsagers Bank, Halmer End, Miles Green, Wood Lane, Bignall End and Audley.
URGENT UPDATE: The latest version of this plan now includes all the wooded area, which goes against Stoke City's own policy on tree protection!
This is currently under consultation, you need to respond NOW.
Does this affect me?
If you live in Caverswall, Uttoxeter Road Blythe Bridge, Caverswall Old Road, then its likely that the views you cherish will change forever if this development goes ahead..
If you wish to object please follow this link (you will need to register and login to submit a response to the consultation)
Sentinel news article on the proposal: https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/families-fight-305-homes-plan-10529456?int_source=nba#comments-wrapper