Campaigners are up in arms over plans to erect a swathe of new homes on countryside skirting the eastern borders of Bristol. Lodging an appeal, the group Save Our Green Spaces pressed South Gloucestershire Council bosses to consider the effects such a development might have on the communities nestled on the city's eastern fringe.
Worries include environmental damage, flooding risks, denser traffic congestion and air pollution, as well as extra strain on medical services and schools. The proposed homes are part of the Local Plan, slated for construction within a 15-year timeline.
But council chiefs say they must adhere to newly-imposed government rules setting out housing quotas for South Gloucestershire. At a cabinet consultation on Monday, November 11, they said expanding the housing stock was critical to alleviating the severe residential shortfall in the region, reports .
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Campaigner Darren Lawrence said: "The loss of hedgerows, trees, shrubs and more may seem insignificant to South Gloucestershire Council. This benefits not just our ecosystem but also has an important role in preventing flooding. The council has not reassured residents that they will prevent further catastrophic flooding in the area.
"We already lack timely access to healthcare in the area. Building thousands of new homes will only add to this crisis, and people will die unnecessarily. Traffic is already a huge concern. As an example, the A420 is seen as unsafe with intense traffic volumes. How is the council going to manage the inevitable increase in traffic to the local roads? "
"It's a brutal and destructive plan for the local people. The reality of what's being pushed on local people I feel will have massive consequences. We have to find a balance. We ask you to come to the table and have a balanced and honest conversation. If I have to buy the coffees, I will do so."
Concerns also included that many of the homes will be unaffordably expensive, and that local people will be denied a say on the plans given the increasing pressure from the new government to build more homes. Ahead of the general election Labour promised to be "for the builders, not the blockers", and remove protections on some Green Belt countryside near cities.
Eileen Tilley added: "So far we've been met with an overwhelming silence. As a local community, we don't feel we're being engaged with. The phrase 'affordable homes for local people' rings hollow. The local infrastructure is insufficient to cope with the development that would increase the demand by approximately one third."
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"The land being targeted is agricultural and in the Green Belt. Both as a community and a country, we really cannot afford to lose agricultural land. Traffic congestion along the A4175 would increase dramatically, due to increased cars in the area and new residents having to commute out of Oldland for work. Public transport is woefully inadequate."
Council leaders have acknowledged that the complexity of the housing issue in South Gloucestershire is partly due to the government's increased housing targets, which have risen from approximately 20,500 to 26,500 new homes. Planning documents are intentionally detailed to preclude legal disputes.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Willmore, who holds the portfolio for planning, regeneration and infrastructure, commented: "All of the documents have been made public. It can be tricky to find your way around. I find it tricky to find things sometimes and yet I'm living with this a lot of the time."
He added, "That's partly because we're dealing with developers who are spending millions of pounds trying to undermine what residents want to achieve. You may not believe this, but we're on your side. We're trying to minimise the harm to our local environment and meet the needs of the community.
"Developers spend large amounts of money trying to pick legal holes in what the council does, and so every document ends up getting written not for you, not for me, but to try and protect our community from challenges from the rich and the powerful. Sometimes that does mean the documents are complicated, and for that I can only apologise."
The council is unable to release its Local Plan - a crucial document outlining the number and location of homes to be built in the coming years - until the government finalises the housing figures required for South Gloucestershire. Meanwhile, many residents are struggling to afford their own homes due to rising rental prices caused by a housing shortage.
Cllr Willmore commented: "We all know people who can't afford to buy or even rent their own home, and are stuck in the spare room at their parents'. We all know couples who want to set out in life with that most precious step of setting up a home, having children and building a family, and they're stuck with mum and dad."
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He added: "I was approached yesterday at a Remembrance Day parade by a 62-year-old who is living in a rented room in somebody's house. All she was asking was 'do I stand a chance of ever getting a council one-bed'. That's all she wants, a place where she can shut the door and call it her own. But we've got a housing shortage across the country and here in South Gloucestershire."
Labour Cllr Ian Boulton, co-leader of the council, also stated: "I had a resident only this morning who is facing homelessness, a well-regarded member of our community who has applied for social housing. Despite this man facing homelessness, there are other people ahead of him. We need housing, it's as stark as that."
"Many of us have the privilege of owning our homes. We have to think about everyone else. I don't want to be the generation that is not preparing for the next generation. This is really difficult, we're doing our best to make sure it's as balanced as possible, so that future generations have the opportunity to have a home of their own."
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