“It feels like a hostile takeover”: Why Packmoor and Chell residents are fighting the Local Plan

Cllr Dave Mountford is among those leading the voices of dissent, while residents say their MP David Williams has been conspicuously absent from the debate

Packmoor residents are dismayed that more than 800 homes could be built on council-owned famland as part of the Local Plan

Andy Burnham recently stated at PMQs that his government will take a “brownfield-first approach” to housing, prioritising previously developed land and looking to release more public land for new homes.

But that is not the case in Packmoor, says Cllr Dave Mountford, who is concerned that the Labour-led Stoke-on-Trent City Council wants to allocate a 200-acre plot of council-owned farmland and green spaces for around 800 homes through its Local Plan, along with a new east-west spine road and travel corridors to connect Packmoor to surrounding communities like Great Chell, Fegg Hayes, and Brindley Ford.

The council has formally designated Packmoor and Great Chell as a central part of its Stoke-on-Trent Local Plan. Despite heavy community pushback and a petition that attracted more than 1,300 signatures, the cabinet voted to move ahead with a dedicated Packmoor Masterplan, arguing that the developments are necessary to tackle the city’s housing shortage and to manage future growth properly.

The council concluded its final formal Regulation 19 Publication Local Plan consultation yesterday. Planning officials are currently reviewing the public feedback before submitting the entire plan to the government Secretary of State for independent examination.

Cllr Dave Mountford has been instrumental in the campaign against Packmoor’s Local Plan

Cllr Dave Mountford, who defected from Labour to The Potteries Party in 2025, is one of the leading campaigners against the Packmoor development. He’s organised residents into working groups and they meet on a regular basis to discuss new developments and next steps. “It’s a formidable working group, and we’ve got people from all political backgrounds with a collective grievance and the Packmoor Community Liaison Group has researched the topic and put a dossier together. It’s brought the whole community together,” he begins.

With the council set to build on old farmland instead of brownfield sites inside the city, there is a risk of Stoke-on-Trent becoming “a doughnut”, says Mountford, meaning that, as all areas outside the city are developed, the inner city becomes a wasteland.