A LEOMINSTER protest group is set to host its first public meeting next Tuesday (April 9).
LEOPARD (Leominster’s Protest Against Ridiculous Development) is campaigning against Herefordshire Council’s plan to build 1500 new houses on greenfield land south of Leominster.
The meeting at the Royal Oak Hotel in Leominster at 7pm will hear from Green party councillor Felicity Norman, who sits on Herefordshire Council’s planning committee, Robert Oliver, recent chairman of the Leominster Civic Society, and Frank Ware, director of LEOPARD.
Mr Ware said: “There are already outstanding permissions for 425 houses on the old wartime camp, which is brownfield land, and should be developed first in accordance with Government policy.
“The camp is suitable for affordable housing, which is what Leominster needs.”
LEOPARD claims the Council is dumping the largest contribution of its planned total of 16,500 homes on Leominster.
The group says the council’s plan imposes a rate of growth in Leominster nearly double that of Hereford and Bromyard and more than double that of the other market towns and the county as a whole.
LEOPARD encourages those in opposition to the plan to lobby both Leominster Town Council and Herefordshire Council, claiming the proposals will be a disaster for the town and its residents.
They also ask for people to respond to the consultation by completing the questionnaire distributed by Herefordshire council and by writing detailed submissions.
Mr Ware said the greenfield sites will intrude on the Arrow Valley which should be protected as a tourist attraction.
“The whole development would create 15 to 20 years of hell for the inhabitants of Leominster: noise, dirt, traffic congestion, air pollution and frequent gridlocks,” he said.