THE derelict eyesore by the Co-op store in Studley has been sold to retirement home giant McCarthy & Stone.
It means a 14-year battle to get something done about the site – right at the entrance to the village – may finally start drawing to a close.
The news comes after months of slippage by the Co-op on a timetable agreed with Stratford District Council for disposal of the land at Priory Square which they had owned.
Former district councillor Hazel Wright, who spent ten long years battling to get something done about the eyesore and who stepped down from her role just two months before the sale went through, gave the news a qualified welcome.
“I’m pleased they have secured a sale but I have mixed feelings,” she said.
“My vision was to have some sort of community space there and to encourage more housing for younger people in the village, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
She added one concern was the level of traffic pollution close to the site, which currently breaks national guidelines.
“If they’re going to put retirement flats down there I hope they put in some sort of system to keep the pollution out,” she said.
Another fear is that local people would be priced out of living in the development.
“I always wanted something that was committed to the local community,” said Mrs Wright.
“Studley already has one of the highest elderly populations in Warwickshire, and although I don’t begrudge elderly people from outside the village moving in I do feel something needs to be done for our own community here.”
Local district councillor Peter Hencher Serafin (Lib Dem, Studley with Mappleborough Green) said: “I’d also like to praise Hazel for all her hard work.
“This is a step in the right direction although we could have done with more housing for local people.”
