Dozens of residents are opposing a controversial plan to build houses on a green space in Kingswood.
A developer is applying to South Gloucestershire Council for planning permission for four houses off Orchard Road, at the end of the Selworthy cul-de-sac.
Fifty seven people have objected to the planning application, due to concerns over the harm to natural habitats, loss of sunlight into nearby homes, and problems with the drains and sewers.
Two of the houses would be semi-detached with three bedrooms, and the other two would be detached with four bedrooms.
Writing to the council, one resident said: “The proposed Plot 4 would directly overlook the entire length of my garden at close range, with multiple second-storey habitable-room windows and potentially several ground-floor windows depending on final ground levels. The site currently supports a range of wildlife, including nesting birds and bats.”
Another added: “Even with changes to the design it will block out our sunlight which will have a huge impact on our health. We see foxes, badgers, and occasionally there is a woodpecker. All this wildlife and habitat will be destroyed.”
According to an ecologist, the development would lead to a 42 per cent loss of natural habitats on the site. But planning laws say developers can pay a company elsewhere to improve habitats somewhere else.
Messrs Hembrough, who have owned the land for several years and said the plot of land is “underused”. The houses would be made to match homes nearby, and there would be garages and parking spaces.
In planning documents, architects said: “The site is considered to be infill.”
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporter