A PLAN to build ten homes near an accident blackspot where Labour politician Michael Foot almost lost his life in the 1960s has been given the go ahead, despite traffic safety fears.

Russell Pryce applied for permission to build the houses on four acres of grassland beside The Hambletts at St Owens Cross, near the New Inn pub.

Housing plans
How the new houses in St Owen’s Cross might look (Collins Design & Build)

The junction on the nearby A4137 north of Glewstone has seen many accidents over the years, including a collision with a Lucozade lorry in 1963 that left future Labour leader Foot fighting for his life in Hereford Hospital with a pierced lung.

He was travelling back to London from a constituency meeting in Ebbw Vale with wife Jill Craigie at the time, and thankfully they both lived to tell the tale, later praising the hospital’s “earthly angels” for saving them.

Several local residents objected to the new housing scheme, raising concerns about the “dangerous blind bend and crossroads” having been the scene of “numerous serious accidents”.

Other concerns included overdevelopment in the small village, drainage and the modern design of the buildings being out of keeping with existing ones.

Ballingham Bolstone and Hentland Group Parish Council backed the new housing plan however, while suggesting that the A4137 stretch should be lowered from 50mph to 30mph.

Herefordshire Council’s own highways and land drainage officers made no objections though, apart from recommending some technical conditions.

Council planners were told that the mature trees on the irregularly shaped plot ‘dictate that smaller pockets of development are proposed, and will aid in breaking up the areas of development”.

The proposed homes comprise a mixture of formats and finishes, ranging from a two-bedroom bungalow to three four-bed detached homes.

All will access onto a new cul-de-sac running from the existing road access onto the A4137, which would be widened.

Planning officer Ollie Jones judged the proposal comprised an ‘acceptable housing mix’ in an area earmarked for growth in county planning policy.

He concluded: “No undue concerns regarding highway safety, drainage, or ecology have been identified,” and full planning permission for the scheme was granted.