VILLAGERS have been left angry and upset after contentious plans for 70 new homes and a doctors surgery were given the go-ahead.

Cotswold District Council’s (CDC) planning committee has approved outline plans to develop land adjacent to Arbour Close and Cotswold Edge in Mickleton.

The application by Newland Homes attracted strong concerns from the community, with 111 letters of objection and just five in support.

It is the second major planning application approved for the village in recent weeks, after outline plans to build 80 homes at the former Meon Hill Nurseries, in Canada Lane, were given the green light in November.

Councillor Sue Jepson, ward member for Campden- Vale, said she was unable to vote on the latest plans in her role as ward member, but strongly objected to the application.

She fears the weight of development which set to hit the area will cause major congestion problems. “You are talking about getting on for 200 houses. The infrastructure just cannot cope with it. The main concern is that the roads will become chock-a-block,” she said.

“I think residents are all pretty upset. There’s nothing they can do about it. They feel frustrated probably that local opinion was not listened to.”

Leigh Remington, chairman of action group Mickleton CARE (Campaign Against Reckless Expansion) which formed in response to an array of proposed developments in and around the village, is similarly disappointed.

“It’s far in excess of the district council’s draft local plan,” he said. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now it’s been approved.”

He said the group is now focusing its attentions on a planning application for the Stratford Road area that is still to be decided.