800 of you fight plans to change this Stoke-on-Trent neighbourhood forever

A community leader is calling on Stoke-on-Trent City Council members to keep fields and green spaces in and around Packmoor out of plans for future residential development. Hundreds of people have backed a campaign to stop the council-owned farmland to the east of the village from being built on.

The petition was started last month in the wake of a community engagement event, which has been launched to seek views on how amenities, housing and transport can be improved in the village. Consultation sessions have taken place in recent days at Packmoor Community Hall.

The council is considering developing some of the 75 hectares (185 acres) of farmland it owns to create a new village centre. But residents fear that more than 900 homes could be built on the land - a claim that has been rejected by the authority.

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On Thursday (January 23) Councillor Chandra Kanneganti, who represents Goldenhill and Sandyford, will present a motion to the full council urging the authority's cabinet to not include city council-owned fields and green spaces in and around Packmoor in the forthcoming Local Plan for residential development. The motion has been seconded by Councillor Tabrase Din, who represents Tunstall.

The motion stated: "On the 4th December 2024, Stoke-on-Trent City Council launched its consultation with the residents of Great Chell and Packmoor ward about the future of City Council owned green space in and around Packmoor. The consultants commissioned to carry out this work are based in London and have so far been awarded approximately £50,000 for two consultations within the city regarding future planned developments.

"As a result of Labour’s changes to national housing targets, Stoke-on-Trent must find additional land for new residential properties to be built, despite the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, saying on an interview on the 8th December 2024 that there was 'plenty of housing already'."

Councillor Kanneganti, speaking at a public meeting in Goldenhill on Thursday (January 16), said: "The green spaces are important for our wellbeing and we should prevent any houses being built there. Over 800 people have signed a petition saying that these spaces should be left green."

Council leaders have said that Packmoor is isolated from the rest of Stoke-on-Trent and suffers from issues such as a lack of local shops and poor transport links. At the end of the community engagement period a report compiling residents' views is set to be produced.

A city council spokesperson said: "We recognise and welcome the right for everyone to have their say on the Packmoor vision and we encourage anyone who wants to have a say to come and see us at an engagement event. You can also fill in the survey, which is being posted through letterboxes in Packmoor."

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