Plans for 10,000 homes on historic green belt land sparks outrage

A storm is gathering in Shakespeare's home county over proposals to construct 10,000 new homes that would "destroy" vast swathes of the Warwickshire countryside — including the area surrounding Mary Arden's Farm.

Residents living close to the farmhouse of Mary Shakespeare, the Bard's mother, are up in arms over development plans in Wilmcote that would see the Grade I-listed property engulfed by new housing estates.

The peaceful village is designated as one of several locations earmarked for 10,000 new homes, which would create urban sprawl across the leafy county after the Stratford-upon-Avon district became a prime target for developers. The proposed scheme would cover approximately 329 hectares of green belt land — equivalent to around 460 football pitches — and include more than 6,700 homes between Wilmcote and Bearley, potentially housing some 16,000 new residents.

Local people are furious, arguing the wave of new housing would shatter their rural tranquillity, devastate wildlife, cripple local infrastructure and overwhelm already stretched public services.

Grandmother-of-two Diana Dobson, 77, a volunteer railway worker for the Friends of the Shakespeare Line, has lived just 100 yards from Mary Arden's Farm for the past 35 years. She said: "We made a choice to live in the countryside and now we face being covered in concrete.

"It's the sheer number of them - we simply don't need 10,000 homes around here and the infrastructure cannot support it.

"We live in an area of historical interest within a conversation area and I don't understand how they can justify this number of homes on green belt land.

"Warwick Hospital has already declared critical incidents - it is full to capacity, as are Stratford's schools and you can also not get a dentist appointment.

"There is also the issue of flooding, some new houses built on the south side of the town is already suffering from the problem.

"I know someone who works in flooding for a various agency I won't name who said he had done a survey and the results of this houses being built would be, in his words, catastrophic.

"Then there's all the wildlife that would disappear as their habitats are destroyed. There are far more suitable places which have the infrastructure in place where these homes could be built.

"We only have two buses a day, our train station is only small with no waiting room or staff and no parking. The A46 would also not cope with the increased traffic. "

A 2024 study revealed that Stratford-upon-Avon recorded the highest number of newly constructed homes over the previous three years relative to its population size.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) described the continuing developments in the area as "very sad and not necessary".

Chair of Wilmcote Parish Council Janine Lee, and joint leader of Bearley Wilmcote Action Group (BWAG), said: "We are not against sustainable development - but this is not sustainable.

"Ten thousand homes is a new town - not a settlement.

"One of the main roads into Stratford is the A3400 and either side of this green gateway near to two villages they want to put in 10,000 homes.

"You are looking at double or triple the traffic levels on what can be an already very busy road - it would be a ridiculous route.

"Stratford is world-renowned and this is a place where tourists come, it is not just a market town, people visit from all over the world.

"And they come to Wilmcote to visit Mary Arden's Farm, which is a heritage property and that and its surrounding areas need to be protected.

"Any development would harm its appeal and also the pollution from passing cars will cause damage to such an old timber framed building and erode the structure. There are more suitable and affordable locations which are not on great belt land or near to several Grade I listed buildings or heritage properties.

"These are developer led options which do not have the best interests of the town of district at is heart.

"They should exhaust all other options before building on green belt land - and that has not happened in this case.

"One of the developers specialises in executive homes, so they will not be for local people or young people - but for people from Birmingham and Solihull who want to move to the countryside. It is desire rather than need.

"It will urbanise Stratford are ironically turn it into the sort of more built up areas people will be moving from.

"If approved, it will choke our roads, overwhelm local services, and permanently change the character of Stratford itself as well as our villages."

Fellow local resident and father-of-four Terry Cundy, 58, added: "We are already pretty much the UK's capital of newbuild developments and now they want to destroy our countryside and cultural assets. It's absolutely outrageous and we won't stand for it.

"They are just trying to make a fast and easy buck without having any consideration for the people who live here. We already have loads of tourists and we would not be able to deal with the extra footfall.

"Any peace will be shattered and we are now looking to move away from an area we have loved and called home for many years."

Mike Sullivan, technical secretary for the Campaign to Protect Rural England Warwickshire, argues that such developments ought to be constructed on brownfield land in areas such as Coventry.

He said: "CPRE is strongly opposed to the urbanisation of the rural Stratford District that this huge scale of house-building would cause.

"The pattern of historic towns and villages, and open countryside, will be gradually lost.

"Country lanes will be filled with traffic and no longer pleasant for cycling or horse-riding, and make life for farmers more difficult.

"The Green Belt which separates Stratford from the Birmingham conurbation, and the Cotswolds National Landscape in the south of the District, would both face imposition of new houses.

"There is an alternative. Coventry's housing target has been reduced and the city now has more housing land available than its target.

"CPRE believes that at least 4,000 of the houses that are being imposed on Stratford District could be built in Coventry, using brownfield land."

Stratford District Council is currently attempting to maintain a five-year supply of land for housing in accordance with government requirements as it seeks to deliver 1.5 million new homes.

Liberal Democrat Councillor George Cowcher, deputy leader of Stratford District Council and its portfolio holder for planning and economic development, told his local newspaper the Stratford Herald: "We're working as hard as we possibly can.

"And there are some very difficult decisions to be taken as the year goes on because we're not masters in our own house."

He explained the council believed it had a five-year land supply until the government abruptly "moved the goalposts" by disallowing the inclusion in the supply of homes already built or granted planning permission.

It also doubled the number of houses required to be built in the Stratford district from approximately 500 annually to over 1,000 per year.

He added: "To re-establish our five-year land supply will mean granting permission for more houses, and in some cases they will be very difficult decisions.

"We need to maintain our statutory duty to provide a five-year land supply." The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which manages Mary Arden's Farmhouse, failed to respond to requests for comment.

A Stratford-on-Avon District Council spokesperson said: "Stratford-on-Avon District Council endorsed a comprehensive action plan aimed at restoring its five year housing land supply in October 2025.

"This followed changes to the national planning policy Framework by government. The action plan currently sets out around 5,600 planning applications for houses across the district.

"However, this number, is constantly monitored by the district council at regular housing delivery advisory group meetings.

"This situation is cross-cutting and involves various service areas within the district council, as well as partners.

"Officers have been working hard to deliver solutions, and new staff have been recruited to ensure this is addressed.

"Part of the solution will be the delivery of the South Warwickshire Local Plan, which will be submitted to Government in December 2026."