ONCE again, the views of Ledbury people are being ignored by Herefordshire Council. Under the Local Plan proposal (2021-2041), a further 450 houses will be built on a large site south of the town, adjacent to the Gloucester Road.

Ledbury has already accepted more than its share of new housing and without matching provision of necessary infrastructure.

We don’t need another 450 new houses, the majority (60 per cent) to be sold at market rates (ie not affordable housing).

This development will only make existing problems worse — traffic and parking problems in and around the town, pressure on schools, health services and other infrastructure.

And what was the point of agreeing a Neighbourhood Development Plan for Ledbury (NDP, 2023), supposedly giving the local community more say in the planning system?

The NDP, based on extensive local consultation, identified a settlement boundary, outside of which there would be countryside where development would be limited.

This latest planning proposal completely ignores the settlement boundary.

To make matters worse, the council proposes to locate the additional 450 houses in an area identified as Sensitive Landscape, inappropriate for housing development.

It’s a beautiful, undulating area as you approach Ledbury from the south with an historic clump of trees on the hill.

In our view, this remaining unspoilt countryside makes a major contribution to the unique setting and character of Ledbury.

Please help us stop this further urbanisation around Ledbury.

You can see the full details and respond to the consultation by going to https://hlp.commonplace.is and to the box marked ‘Ledbury Place Shaping’.

Click on ‘Have your say’ before the deadline of May 20, 2024.

Mark Lister

Ledbury and District Civic Society chair