THE battle to save Green Belt sites near Kingswood from large-scale development has entered a new phase following the closure of the latest consultation.
Residents had until April 11 to comment on South Gloucestershire Council’s draft Local Plan, which sets out where more than 20,000 homes should be built over the next 15 years.
Campaign group Save Our Green Spaces South Gloucestershire (SOGS-SG) marked the deadline by handing in 167 responses at the civic centre in Kingswood.
All representations will be considered and sent with the plan for independent examination by a planning inspector,
SOGS-SG says the council’s proposals concentrate too much housing in Bristol’s eastern fringe and they are concerned that roads and other infrastructure will not be able to cope with the increase.
They oppose the removal of several sites in Warmley, Shortwood and Hanham from the Green Belt.
The group has employed a professional consultant Mark Reynolds, from Bath-based Context Planning, to put its case to the council and it is continuing to raise funds so that he can represent them when the plan goes to the inspector.
In his report, Mr Reynolds says: “4,466 of the 11,817 new homes on site allocations are proposed to be built on strategic and non-strategic Green Belt sites at Bristol East Fringe.
“Bristol East Fringe will be accommodating around 38% of the new site allocations on green field/Green Belt sites. In addition, 720 new homes on site allocations are proposed to be built within the existing East Fringe urban areas.
“This means that the East Fringe in total will be accommodating 5,186 new homes on site allocations (44% of the 11,817 total). In comparison, locations such as Thornbury (55 new homes on site allocations on green field/Green Belt sites) and Yate (0 new homes on site allocations on green field/Green Belt sites) are proposed to accommodate a disproportionately small number of new homes (0.5% of the 11,817 total).”
He also states: “The plan would set a dangerous precedent for development breaching the long established and strong Green Belt boundaries such as the A4174 and A4175, encroaching on the Green Belt and threatening further Green Belt loss in the future because the new boundaries would be much weaker.”
South Gloucestershire Council has said that its Local Plan affects just 2.53% of the South Gloucestershire Green Belt.
The inspector will decide if the Local Plan has been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements and is sound and will tell the council if any amendments are needed before it is adopted.