Wildlife and habitats
Turn sightings into evidence.
Photograph wildlife, plants, ponds, hedgerows, mature trees and habitat routes. Record the date, time and exact location or map pin. Do not disturb wildlife or enter private land.
Green Not Greed · Protect Lightwood's Green Belt
Stoke-on-Trent Local Plan · Site BL1
3,000 homes between our communities
The council proposes its single largest housing allocation: 113.19 hectares of Green Belt land between Lightwood, Cocknage, Rough Close and Meir Heath.
Regulation 19 consultation closed
Thank you to everyone who submitted a representation by 14 September 2026.
Lightwood Community Group · Submitted 13 September 2026
The Community Group's formal case against BL1.
Lightwood Community Group has formally submitted its consolidated Regulation 19 representation. It asks for Allocation BL1 to be deleted from the Local Plan and the land to remain within the Green Belt.
01Open PDF ↗02Download matrix ↓
Full representation · PDF · 20 pages
Consolidated Regulation 19 representation
Public copy — personal address and telephone number removed.Evidence schedule · XLSX
Consolidated objection matrix
The detailed source, confidence and treatment record supporting the representation.Supporting evidence submitted with the representation
Nine supporting files were sent to the Council with the main representation and matrix.
PDFCocknage Road highway site historyOpen ↗PDFArchaeological sites — Council mapOpen ↗PDFMineral Safeguarding Area — Council mapOpen ↗PDFSite allocation and proposed Green Belt removalOpen ↗PDFExisting adopted Green Belt — Council map, 2013Open ↗PDFSite allocation — Council large viewOpen ↗JPGCocknage Road flooding — 28 August 2026Open ↗PNGTopography and watercourses — StreetmapOpen ↗PNGExisting Green Belt context — CPRE mapOpen ↗
The consultation has closed, but the evidence still matters
Three ways to help now.
Where is BL1?
This is the land at risk.
The proposed site stretches between Lightwood Road, Cocknage Road and Woodpark Lane—open land separating several existing neighbourhoods.
The map below is taken from the council's 2026 Landscape Sensitivity Assessment. It shows the extent of Site BL1 in red.
Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council Landscape Sensitivity Assessment, June 2026, Figure 8.1. View the source document ↗
What the council's maps show
BL1 is affected by important planning constraints.
These council map exports show the Mineral Safeguarding Area and recorded archaeological sites across and around the land proposed for BL1.
Mineral safeguarding
A safeguarded mineral area overlaps much of the proposed site.
The council needs to explain how development would avoid unnecessarily sterilising safeguarded mineral resources, or why development should take priority.
View the full council map ↗
Archaeology
Recorded archaeological sites lie within and around BL1.
The archaeological interest of the land must be properly assessed before allocation, with the significance of any affected remains understood and protected.
View the full council map ↗Source: Stoke-on-Trent City Council map exports, produced 21 July 2026. Crown Copyright Ordnance Survey.
The scale in numbers
BL1 is the size of an entire community.
The headline is 3,000 homes. These figures show what that could mean in land, population and density.
The total BL1 allocation shown in the Regulation 19 material.
The gross density across the allocation—one of the highest in the plan.
An indicative population using 2.4 residents per household.
Indicative dependent children—not the same as required school places.
For comparison
Blythe Bridge & Forsbrook
At Census 2021, Blythe Bridge and Forsbrook had 2,949 households and 6,798 residents. BL1 proposes 3,000 homes and could accommodate around 7,200 people.
Housing target context
700 → 948 homes a year
The Government's December 2024 indicative local housing-need figure for Stoke-on-Trent rose by 35.4%. The question is not whether homes are needed, but whether BL1 is the right location and scale.
Figures and full sources are set out in the Lightwood Community Group public meeting presentation.
What could this mean for you?
This would change everyday life here.
BL1 is not just a line on a map. Think about the roads you use, where your children go to school, the services your family relies on and the landscape you see every day.
Your journeys
More homes mean more journeys. What could that mean for Lightwood Road, Cocknage Road and the routes you already use for work, school and everyday life?
Your family
A development of this size would bring thousands of new residents. Local school places, GP services and other facilities must be planned for properly—not promised later.
Your surroundings
The fields, hedgerows, lanes and wildlife between our communities are part of daily life here. Once developed, that open landscape cannot be put back.
Years of disruption
This would not appear overnight. Families closest to the site could face years of construction traffic, noise, dust and changing access routes.
Transport
3,600+ household vehicles
An indicative national-average calculation also suggests around 7,000 car-driver trips and 480–600 delivery or servicing vehicle movements each day.Schools and health
c. 750 primary + c. 390 secondary places
Indicative pupil-yield figures, alongside around 47,500 additional GP appointments each year.Water and utilities
Close to 1 million litres a day
Indicative daily water demand from around 7,200 residents—before asking what local water, sewerage and drainage upgrades would be needed.These are indicative estimates based on Census 2021, Department for Transport, Department for Education and NHS England averages—not site-specific forecasts. Actual demand would depend on housing mix, occupancy and resident demographics.
GREEN NOT GREED
A campaign by Lightwood Community Group
Help us make the strongest possible case.
We are raising funds to support the community campaign against plans for 3,000 homes on Lightwood's Green Belt. Every contribution helps us gather evidence, reach residents and challenge BL1 properly.
Donate to the campaign ↗Why we are challenging BL1
Seven serious questions.
Our objection is about whether this is the right place for development on this enormous scale—and whether the evidence really supports the council's choice.
Green Belt and landscape
BL1 would remove a very large area of open land from the Green Belt and change the countryside separating established communities.
Traffic and access
The effects would cross council boundaries. Routes towards the A50, A34, M6, Barlaston and surrounding communities must be tested against limited local public transport and no immediate rail link.
Schools, health and utilities
Thousands of new residents would need school places, healthcare, drainage, water, power and other services. Where will that capacity come from?
Nature and biodiversity
Fields, hedgerows, trees and linked habitats work together. They must be understood as a living landscape, not treated as separate features on a plan.
Heritage and archaeology
Historic lanes, listed buildings, the rural setting and the area’s archaeological potential all need proper investigation and protection.
Mineral safeguarding
BL1 is within a Mineral Safeguarding Area. The plan must properly address the mineral resource and the risk of permanently sterilising it through development.
Brownfield first
Before Green Belt is lost, the council must show that realistic alternatives—including vacant, derelict and underused land—have been properly considered.