The road into Southam's 217 homes is approved. The same night, councillors refused 3 to 5 homes at Pillerton Priors, going against their officers' advice.

The road into 217 new homes at Southam has been approved. Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s Planning Committee granted the A423 roundabout and crossing on Wednesday night, four weeks after deferring it.

At the same meeting, councillors refused three to five homes at Pillerton Priors, against the recommendation of their own planning officers. That is notable while the district can show only 2.21 years of housing land, which tilts decisions towards approval.

Neither decision has been published in minutes yet. We took both votes from the council’s own webcast of the 23 September meeting on its YouTube channel, and the meeting papers.

Southam: the roundabout is approved

Southam is about 14 miles east of Stratford. The application, ref 25/00347/FUL, is for the highway works serving the Home Farm site off the A423 bypass. It includes a three-arm roundabout and a toucan crossing. We set out what the works include and why they were deferred before Wednesday’s meeting.

The committee had approved the 217 homes themselves in outline on 26 August, then deferred this access application for more information on the traffic island and crossing.

This time it went through. The committee chair, Councillor Stuart Keighley, proposed approval with the 20 conditions and seven notes in the officers’ report. Councillor Bill Fleming seconded. The vote was taken on a show of cards and the chair declared the application granted. The count was not read out on the webcast; the minutes will record it.

Councillor Gillian Padgham, the ward member, stood aside from the committee for this item in order to speak against it.

What the objectors said

Four speakers addressed the committee:

  • Southam Town Council asked for a condition stopping work on the roundabout until the housing has full permission, to avoid “a roundabout to nowhere”. It also said the A423 junction with the A425 Leamington Road “is plainly swamped” already.
  • Councillor Andrew Crump, the adjoining ward member, asked whether the roundabout had been tested against the larger housing allocation proposed nearby in the draft South Warwickshire Local Plan.
  • Councillor Padgham objected to the loss of grade 3a and 3b farmland, the landscape harm and building outside Southam’s settlement boundary.
  • The applicant’s agent said the county highways team and National Highways support the design, and that the new walking and cycling route to Stowe Drive avoids the underpass the town council had flagged for flooding.

The planning manager told members the evidence before them did not show impacts severe enough to justify refusal. Some councillors voiced doubts before the vote. Councillor Kate Rolfe said the roundabout would be “extremely useful” for construction traffic.

Pillerton Priors: refused against advice

Pillerton Priors is about eight miles south-east of Stratford, on the A422 Banbury Road. The application, ref 26/01894/PIP, sought permission in principle for three to five homes in the rear garden of a house on Banbury Road.

Permission in principle decides only the location, the use and the number of homes. Design comes later.

The officers’ report recommended approval. It found the site within the village’s built-up area. It did give “significant weight” to harm from backland development. But it concluded that harm did not substantially outweigh the benefit of new homes, given the district’s 2.21-year land supply.

The same garden has a long history, set out in the report:

  • 2016: one detached house granted, a permission since confirmed as lawfully started
  • December 2021: five houses refused
  • June 2023: two houses refused, and the appeal dismissed on 1 March 2024
  • September 2026: three to five houses refused

Pillerton Priors Parish Council objected, and nine objections were received, including one from CPRE. Warwickshire County Council’s rights of way team also objected late. It said public footpath SS11’s legal line crosses the rear garden.

How the vote went

Councillor Malcolm Littlewood, the ward member, stood aside from the committee to speak against the scheme, telling members “the shortfall does not make every housing site acceptable”.

Councillor Ashley Jones proposed refusal, arguing that three to five homes was a modest benefit set against the backland harm. Councillor Tom Ballinger seconded. The chair said the case was “quite finely balanced”.

The reason agreed was that the harm to character and landscape at this location and scale substantially outweighs the benefit. No councillor voted against refusal and one abstained. The number in favour was not read out.

What it means for you

  • Southam: the homes still need a signed section 106 agreement before the outline permission is issued, then a detailed application. Southam Town Council’s worry is timing: a roundabout built long before the houses. That is now a matter for conditions and phasing, not whether it happens.
  • Pillerton Priors: the applicant can appeal. Councillor Dave Passingham asked in the debate whether the council would lose an appeal because of the land supply. With the land supply at 2.21 years, an inspector will weigh the same balance again.
  • Across the district: we explained what the 2.21-year figure means for village sites in our housing land supply report. Our planning news page tracks the rest.

Sources