Ministers approve 800 homes next to Shakespeare's wife cottage Mr Pickles agreed, saying in a decision letter that "overall the appeal development substantially accords with the council's [current local plan]." Those in favour of the housing used the Government's controversial new planning reforms ordering a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" to support their case. Mr Zahawi said he was "shocked" to learn of the approval "against the clear wishes of local residents, their elected representatives and the planning policy direction of the Government." "Anne Hathaway's cottage is a central part of the Shakespeare story, which in turn is an integral part of this country's heritage and cultural legacy to the world," he said. The cottage, which sits in the tiny hamlet of Shottery, was where Shakespeare is thought to have courted his wife. It also contains the famous "second best" bed that he bequeathed her in his will. Mr Zahawi criticised the Communities Secretary for simply agreeing with the opinions of the civil service without having visited the site. "There is no disagreement that there is a need for more housing in the Stratford district, but this many houses, in this sensitive a location is not the answer to that challenge," he said. The council has made a clear indication of its preference for a dispersal policy to protect the character of our historic market towns and the future of our rural villages. Under the localism agenda this should have been respected. Instead this Civil Service-led decision drives a coach and horses through the idea of localism and the messages that ministers have given out. Cllr Chris Saint, leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council said the decision is "bitterly disappointing." "The appeal system clearly made us vulnerable, which does seem against the Government's objectives of localism," he said. A spokesman for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said the development has the potential to pose "irreversible harm to the setting of Anne Hathaway's cottage and the registered park and garden which surrounds it." The Department for Communities and Local Government did not want to comment.