Five years after the initial planning request, work to build 54 new homes on five acres of farmland at the edge of a Cotswold village is finally beginning 

After it won an appeal against refusal in April 2024, Persimmon Homes Severn Valley now has an advance work team preparing the site at 24 Wickwar Road, Kingswood. In the last few weeks, a cottage at the gateway to the 1.95-hectare site was demolished to create new highway access from locked-in land on the B4060 at Cloverlea Barn.

The literal breakthrough marks the culmination of several years' effort from Persimmon at the site: in 2016, it requested 61 homes on the same parcel of land, but at the time the project was seen as being outside the village boundaries.

Since then and despite a vociferous campaign to 'Keep Kingswood a Village', the village close to Wotton-under-Edge has seen dramatic expansion with the addition of development around its playing fields and community hall, while amid claims by protestors that the village had seen "monstrous" expansion, further permission was given for 32 more homes in Walkmill Lane last April.

After an earlier public consultation and exhibition from the developer to discuss the 'appetite for growth' in the settlement ahead of a consultation on the Stroud Local Plan Review, Persimmon said its own survey results showed that 70% of participants recognised the Cloverlea Barn site as their preference for development 'should development occur in the village'.

But after Swindon-based Blue Fox Planning outlined Persimmon's plan Kingswood Parish Council objected over a range of issues, including biodiversity impact, highways safety and traffic congestion. SDC subsequently refused the bid. On appeal, heard in April last year, the decision was overruled by the Planning Inspectorate.

In the decision, which focused on the to and fro between the council and Persimmon over biodiversity impact, costs of £90,000 were finally awarded in favour of Persimmon, after Inspector H Nicholls ruled: "my conclusion is that the Council has behaved unreasonably, for reasons including its failure to determine a planning application based on an issue that was capable of being dealt with by condition and failing to review and clarify its case promptly following the lodging of an appeal".

Sixteen affordable homes will be included in the mix for the development, which includes an attentuation pond and a recreation area. Seven two-bed designs are also being built for the open market, along with three four-bedroom houses, the remaining 28 units being three-bedroom spec.

An outline of the location from Persimmon states: "With supermarkets, local shops and leisure facilities all nearby, Cloverlea Gardens gives you everyday convenience. Healthcare is also close at hand, with The Chipping Surgery under five minutes away by car."

Despite the timescale and administration of the bid, Emma Robinson, who lives close to the address, told Punchline that the project had largely been missed amid other developments in the village.

She said: "Persimmon's development went under the radar for a lot of people, maybe because of the location, and the focus has been around Walkmill Lane more recently, with the demolition of the village's former print works for new homes."

She added: "I think the concerns now are all about the former Soils builders' merchants site' in Walkmill Lane; the business has already decamped to Charfield and speculation is rife that this will be the target for new homes. This site would easily take 50 homes, it seems, but with the village school is very small and pressure on the Katharine Lady Berkeley's school must be growing, with so many new homes now popping up in its catchment."

Persimmon is now marketing Cloverlea Garden as a homebuyer opportunity which is 'coming soon'. A spokesperson told Punchline that the availability for reservations will be posted in due course.

In defence of the initial refusal of the Cloverlea Meadow project, Stroud District Council spokesperson told Punchline: "We have a duty to consider every case thoroughly, and this was a particularly complex case as the land was identified as priority habitat before the decision was made.

"A priority habitat is of principal importance for conserving biodiversity, and difficult to replace. We were not satisfied with the applicant's plan to compensate or mitigate for its loss. However the planning inspector did not agree with the council's position on this issue and granted planning permission."