HOPES for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the Priory Square site in Studley have taken a step nearer reality.
On Monday the Conservative Cabinet at Stratford District Council adopted a Liberal Democrat proposal put forward by Councillor Hazel Wright to provide a budget of £50,000 for the development of a viable scheme for the site along with planning consent.
These would be necessary should the council go ahead with a CPO.
A delighted Coun Wright (Lib Dem, Studley South & Sambourne) said: “I am absolutely thrilled – after all these years of campaigning we have something more than words.”
The money will pay for a survey and investigate what development would be viable for the site.
The Cabinet’s decision is good news for the village, particularly after a £200,000 grant from Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership was withdrawn due to a lack of interest in developing the site.
“Their money was to help put a shovel in the ground – this grant will look at what is possible,” said Coun Wright.
“The reality is if you want a CPO you have to have a planning application. It’s part of the legal process and to succeed we need all our ducks in a row.”
The land, at the entrance to the village, is owned by the Co-op and is the former site of a needle factory which burnt down in the late 1970s.
The land is known to be polluted and efforts to buy it have been thwarted in the past amid claims the asking price from the Co-op was too high.
The decision by Stratford’s Cabinet will now go forward to full council on February 26 for approval.
“This is a massive step in the right direction and it’s a recognition by the local authority that this site needs attention,” said Coun Wright.
