Victory claim in battle over BT masts site road

A VICTORY has been secured in the battle over the location of a road which will link the BT masts site with the town.

Residents claim BT and Aviva, which are planning the huge development, have given assurances it will now come out at Butlers Leap and not the top of Vicarage Hill as was originally proposed.

There had been fears Clifton on Dunsmore would become a rat run for the thousands of people who will live in the site’s 6,000 homes, adding to the village’s traffic woes.

They still face a battle to get the road built before building work starts on the land site once home to the radio masts.

That is expected to move a step forward with a revised planning application expected from the owners in the next few weeks.

Clifton councillor Leigh Hunt told us: “Common sense has finally prevailed.

“This link road is essential if Clifton is to retain a sense of village identity rather than simply becoming a rat run for vehicles travelling to and from the radio station site and the DIRFT developments.

“Clifton already suffers ever-increasing traffic volumes and the idea of putting a major junction at the top of Vicarage Hill was sheer madness.”

The redevelopment of the radio station site has been under discussion for over 20 years with BT and Aviva’s plans including 6,200 homes, schools, shops and land for employment centred around the listed C Station building.

The station began to be taken out of service in 2004 and by 2007 the last of the 12 masts were pulled down. Its redevelopment had been expected to start this year, but that now looks unlikely.

No-one from the Rugby Radio Station Limited Partnership was available to comment.

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