A Tempest is brewing in South Warwickshire over plans to build 10,000 new homes which will "destroy" large parts of two villages.

Residents living near the farmhouse of Mary Shakespeare, the Bard's mother, are in uproar over proposals for Wilmcote and Bearley to be connected in the new South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP).

Drawn up by Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon District Councils, the plan is considering creating a 'new settlement' with 12 potential areas shortlisted including the two villages.

Nub News revealed last year housing developer David Wilson Homes has been pushing for the villages near Stratford to be released for development.

The proposed development would span some 329 hectares of green belt land – the size of some 460 football pitches – and include more than 6,700 homes between Wilmcote and Bearley for some 16,000 potential residents.

Locals are livid, claiming the onslaught of housing would shatter their rural peace, obliterate wildlife, cripple local infrastructure and swamp already overstretched services.

Gran-of-two, Diana Dobson, 77, a volunteer railway worker for the Friends of the Shakespeare Line, has lived just 100 yards away from Mary Arden's Farm for the past 35 years.

She said: "We made a choice to live in the countryside and now we face being covered in concrete.

"It's the sheer number of them - we simply don't need 10,000 homes around here and the infrastructure cannot support it.

"We live in an area of historical interest within a conversation area and I don't understand how they can justify this number of homes on green belt land. 

"Warwick Hospital has already declared critical incidents - it is full to capacity, as are Stratford's schools and you can also not get a dentist appointment.

"There is also the issue of flooding, some new houses built on the south side of the town is already suffering from the problem.

"I know someone who works in flooding for a various agency I won't name who said he had done a survey and the results of this houses being built would be, in his words, catastrophic. 

"Then there's all the wildlife that would disappear as their habitats are destroyed. There are far more suitable places which have the infrastructure in place where these homes could be built.

"We only have two buses a day, our train station is only small with no waiting room or staff and no parking. The A46 would also not cope with the increased traffic. "

A 2024 study found Stratford-upon-Avon had the highest number of new homes built over the preceding three years in relation to its population.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said the ongoing developments in the area was "very sad and not necessary".

Chair of Wilmcote Parish Council Janine Lee, and joint leader of Bearley Wilmcote Action Group (BWAG), said: "We are not against sustainable development - but this is not sustainable.

"Ten thousand homes is a new town - not a settlement. 

"One of the main roads into Stratford is the A3400 and either side of this green gateway near to two villages they want to put in 10,000 homes.

"You are looking at double or triple the traffic levels on what can be an already very busy road - it would be a ridiculous route.

"Stratford is world-renowned and this is a place where tourists come, it is not just a market town, people visit from all over the world.

"And they come to Wilmcote to visit Mary Arden's Farm, which is a heritage property and that and its surrounding areas need to be protected. 

"Any development would harm its appeal and also the pollution from passing cars will cause damage to such an old timber framed building and erode the structure.

"There are more suitable and affordable locations which are not on great belt land or near to several Grade I listed buildings or heritage properties. 

"These are developer led options which do not have the best interests of the town of district at is heart.

"They should exhaust all other options before building on green belt land - and that has not happened in this case.

"One of the developers specialises in executive homes, so they will not be for local people or young people - but for people from Birmingham and Solihull who want to move to the countryside. It is desire rather than need.

"It will urbanise Stratford are ironically turn it into the sort of more built up areas people will be moving from.

"If approved, it will choke our roads, overwhelm local services, and permanently change the character of Stratford itself as well as our villages."

Another local resident dad-of-four Terry Cundy, 58, said: "We are already pretty much the UK's capital of newbuild developments and now they want to destroy our countryside and cultural assets. It's absolutely outrageous and we won't stand for it.

"They are just trying to make a fast and easy buck without having any consideration for the people who live here. We already have loads of tourists and we would not be able to deal with the extra footfall.

"Any peace will be shattered and we are now looking to move away from an area we have loved and called home for many years."

Mike Sullivan, technical secretary for the Campaign to Protect Rural England Warwickshire, believes such developments should be built on brownfield land in areas such as Coventry.

He said: "CPRE is strongly opposed to the urbanisation of the rural Stratford District that this huge scale of house-building would cause. 

"The pattern of historic towns and villages, and open countryside, will be gradually lost. 

"Country lanes will be filled with traffic and no longer pleasant for cycling or horse-riding, and make life for farmers more difficult. 

"The Green Belt which separates Stratford from the Birmingham conurbation, and the Cotswolds National Landscape in the south of the District, would both face imposition of new houses.

"There is an alternative. Coventry's housing target has been reduced and the city now has more housing land available than its target. 

"CPRE believes that at least 4,000 of the houses that are being imposed on Stratford District could be built in Coventry, using brownfield land."

Both Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon District Councils are both currently trying to maintain a five-year supply of land for housing in line with government requirements as it bids to provide 1.5 million news homes.

A Stratford-on-Avon District Council spokesperson said: "Stratford-on-Avon District Council endorsed a comprehensive action plan aimed at restoring its five year housing land supply in October 2025. 

"This followed changes to the national planning policy Framework by government. The action plan currently sets out around 5,600 planning applications for houses across the district. 

"However, this number, is constantly monitored by the district council at regular housing delivery advisory group meetings. 

"This situation is cross-cutting and involves various service areas within the district council, as well as partners. 

"Officers have been working hard to deliver solutions, and new staff have been recruited to ensure this is addressed.

"Part of the solution will be the delivery of the South Warwickshire Local Plan, which will be submitted to Government in December 2026."

The much-delayed SWLP is yet to be finalised, but will ultimately govern where some tens of thousands of houses are built in the region.

The new local plan is expected to be brought into force in 2027.