ALMOST an entire village in the Cotswolds vowed to hold a candlelight protest outside their village hall as an objection against development that could lead to Blockley and Draycott eventually merging into one.

Residents of Blockley almost unanimously declared their intention to fight developers and formed an action group in April this year. This week they vowed to show their resolve outside the Little Village Hall during an organised consultation meeting with potential developers on Wednesday evening.

More than 100 people are now members of the Blockley Environment Action Group and are standing together to try and block unwanted development in the pretty Cotswold village.

Seven sites in and around Blockley have been identified as suitable for large-scale housing development with the potential for up to 500 houses.

But BEAG members have said that potential developers have to demonstrate they have consulted with local communities before they can submit a planning application. If they can prove they have consulted then residents fear the planning application would be approved.

The group says that by boycotting a planned public consultation meeting organised by developers Cala Homes on Wednesday evening, October 29, then the developers' claims will be scuppered.

Cala Homes are proposing a significant development on the field on Draycott Road known as Little Shoe Broad. But residents say the community's infrastructure cannot support suburban housing development though they accept that small-scale brown field housing development is a perfectly legitimate part of the process.

Resident Chris Jury, a BEAG activist, said: “Consultation can be a form of manipulation. If 150 of us write to Cala Homes and say we don’t want this development they just record that as 150 consultations and ignore the content of what we have actually said.”

Rhea Bazeley, also a member of BEAG added: “Blockley is still a village. It’s a small, close-knit, caring, rural community and we want it to remain so."

And Michael Read added: “The transport, infrastructure and facilities in Blockley simply cannot support large-scale suburban housing development. Local residents are almost universally opposed to the inevitable and permanent disintegration of the community and village lifestyle inherent in such sub-urban development.”

BEAG's website states that Cotswold District Council's 2014 published scheme of potential residential development sites for Blockley include Colonel's Piece, the allotments, Little Shoe Broad, The Limes, a flood plane south of Station Road, Farm Park site south of Sheafhouse Farm and land to south of Draycott Road.

Protestors claim the suggested sites strengthen the possibility of eventual in-fill between Blockley and Draycott.

Steve Hird, managing director of CALA Homes Midlands, said:

“CALA Homes, which has a long history of developing in village locations, is preparing a detailed planning application for a high quality development of 34 properties together with a children’s play area on land off Draycott Road in Blockley.

“Cotswold District Council has proposed that Blockley should accommodate 58 (net) additional homes between 2011 and 2031 to meet local demand and this particular site was identified by the Council as being one of the more suitable locations for residential development in the village.

“We are committed to consulting with the local communities in which we build. Far from being a form of manipulation, this consultation event is an opportunity for local people to see our proposals in more detail and leave their feedback. This will include detail of how the properties will look, taking inspiration from the local area to complement their surroundings, and every piece of feedback we receive will be considered before we submit our final application to the council.

“If the development was to go ahead, CALA would also provide investment towards the local community through a Section 106 contribution. This funding would be used to mitigate the development and improve local facilities. It would be unlikely to be available if the housing demand was met by lots of smaller developments.”