EXCLUSIVE We dont want thousands of newbuilds on our Green Belt ... there is no need more houses here - its a fairytale
Furious Gloucestershire locals have been battling the Prime Ministers catastrophic plans to cut red tape for housing developments which would see thousands of new homes built on the Green Belt when we dont even need the houses here.
Furious Gloucestershire locals have been battling the Prime Ministers catastrophic plans to cut red tape for housing developments which would see thousands of new homes built on the Green Belt when we dont even need the houses here.
Ominously dubbed The Local Plan, 22,500 homes are set to be built over the next 15 years outside Bristol on large swathes of rural land to combat the ever-rising housing demands. About a third of these homes are expected to be affordable housing.
It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted this week that the government were going to miss their target of building 1.5million new homes by the end of this parliament.
South Gloucestershire Councils plans, which are spread across several areas in the region - Bitton, Hanham, Mangotsfield, Oldland Common, Shortwood, Warmley and Wick - will all see once protected Green Belt land turned into around 1,800 properties.
Local Martin Thomas told MailOnline: What of Keir Starmers promises that infrastructure comes before housing developments? We arent seeing that here!
Mr Thomas doubted how many houses were actually needed to be built and said the current estimates were seriously flawed.
The fairy tale housing demands are driven by people born abroad, Mr Thomas added.
What is clear is that migration into the area and the availability of new houses are the two factors that have driven up the population locally.
22,500 homes are set to be built outside Bristol on current Green Belt land
Darren Lawrence, the chair of Save Our Green Spaces South Gloucestershire (SOGS-SG), said these plans were catastrophic
The group have been campaigning against the new developments and set up workshops to educate locals on how to oppose the plans
Darren Lawrence, the chair of Save Our Green Spaces South Gloucestershire (SOGS-SG), said these plans were catastrophic, bordering on authoritarian.
SOGS-SG believed that only around 5,600 houses are needed over the next 15 years according to local births and deaths.
The remaining occupants will be people coming to the Bristol area primarily to work and not to satisfy the needs of local people.
The 51-year-old said pushing forward with the developments was akin to a dictatorship since he and his group felt like our hands were being tied behind our back - on their terms.
The elites, the powerful, the people in these positions, they look at us as if we dont know anything, as if we are "deplorables", he added.
Having campaigned against these proposals for months, Mr Lawrence feels that labelling the group as NIMBYs is just a way to shut down the conversation.
Were just people that are frustrated and we just want to be heard. We should not be told how to live our futures, were all human beings, we all deserve the right to walk in the countryside. Why should we bow down to greed?
The self-employed gardener highlighted the importance of having access to green space: You become very mentally challenged if you cant escape somewhere to reconnect and get a bit of fresh air.
He said and his group acknowledged that we need houses but questioned how many is it that we actually need and why would you dump them here when there just isnt the infrastructure for it?.
Bitton, Hanham, Mangotsfield, Oldland Common, Shortwood, Warmley and Wick are all areas where the houses are set to be built
We should not be told how to live our futures, were all human beings, we all deserve the right to walk in the countryside
Ros Pyle, 66, said the area does not have enough infrastructure to support the people the houses will attract
With a lack of employment opportunities in the nearby area, most workers will have to commute along the heavily congested single carriageway, they believe.
Were not against house building, but its about building where its appropriate, where people can access jobs and not add to carbon emissions because we reckon this amount of housing will add 7,000 extra cars to the road, Mr Lawrence said.
He believed most households will need at least two cars and, thanks to the unreliable buses and lack of places to visit in the nearby area, the roads will become quickly congested and traffic unbearable.
Julian Jones, 66, nearly missed his appointment for his abscess because he was stuck in 90 minutes of traffic that should have only taken 20 minutes.
He said this was already the norm but dreaded what it would be like with all the added cars in the area - think how early I would have to leave then!.
Ros Pyle said the influx of people on local healthcare services would be horrendous.
The 66-year-old said this area attracts an older population and we are just at our limits with our surgeries at full capacity.
Weve got nothing, no minor injuries, no dentist, nothing. Weve been told we need to go to A&E for most things now but then other professionals will tell us not to take up space there.
However, the council have previously said there will be new opportunities, like schools, GP surgeries, employment, roads and public transport.
The developments were also said to develop solar and wind energy to make the area carbon neutral.
Martin Thomas was sceptical about how many houses local residents actually needed
The Labour Government are planning to build 1.5million new homes by the end of their parliament
What is clear is that migration into the area and the availability of new houses are the two factors that have driven up the population locall
South Gloucestershire Council said their numbers were driven by calculations made by central government and minimises the impact on the existing Green Belt to 2.53 per cent of the land.
The mix of new homes will enable the next generations of local people to live in the area they have grown up in and not be forced to move away in search of affordable housing, a spokesperson added.
Our ambition, described in the draft plan, is to overachieve the statutory minimums and deliver more than 6,600 new affordable homes over the plan period, around 33% of the total, meaning that having somewhere to live in South Gloucestershire is a realistic prospect for people, young and old.
The new entrance to one of the developments would use a road that is currently a crescent for houses, with plans to knock down one terraced house to open up the field behind for access.
Charlie Bierman, who was hoping to raise his two young children in the house for years to come, said no one told us when we signed on to rent that these plans were in action to demolish his home.
Wendy and Martyn Webster are devastated at the thought that their home will now be on the corner of the main entrance to the development
Charlie Bierman said he was misled by housing agents about how long he could stay in his home, which is now set to be demolished to make a new road
He said the estate agents had played dumb and said they knew nothing about the development, which were not really buying.
Signing on for five years, his family will stay if we can but if were booted out for a bulldozer, it would be really upsetting.
Its a great house and a great neighbourhood, and we left a really good home we lived in for ten years to come here - it would be a real shame to go.
He doubted who the new-builds were actually for, saying not enough were dedicated to affordable housing.
Thats what angers me because most of these houses will be completely unattainable for so many families, he added.
Wendy Webster, who would live next to the new entrance to the development, said she is absolutely devastated at the plans to turn her home into a junction corner.
We wanted to enjoy our retirement, its been lovely and quiet so far but we dont want to have all this traffic and these building works for years to come.
The disruption is going to be absolutely astronomical, it is so upsetting, the 68-year-old sighed.
Ms Webster added the uncertainty of whether the plans will go ahead is wearing me down because youve got no closure on it.
Caroline White said the building works would completely change the character of the area
Locals have been rallying against the plans to build new properties on the green belt
Her husband, Martyn, 69, similarly said the prospect of all the traffic was awful and it would be heartbreaking to destroy the green escape behind their back garden.
Weve seen deer out the back, badgers… to see all that go is soul-destroying.
Caroline White said the disruption from the building would be absolutely devastating and will completely change the character of the area.
The 67-year-old said weve got quite a lot of countryside around here, but youve just got the danger of creep. This is what the green belt was designed to avoid - urban sprawls.
Marilyn Thomas, 70, was concerned about the threat of Green Belt use from spreading from its current allocation of 2.53 per cent given to development.
The former health worker said this bothers me a lot because theyre changing green belt to Grey belt and then itll be brown and it will all just be built on and it would change everything.
She explained the green belt was established in the first place to protect against urban sprawl.
Jackie Dalgarno highlighted the areas abundance of new and ancient woodlands as well as the historic Roman road that runs along the bottom of one of the proposals.
Jackie and John Dalgarno were concerned about the impact on wildlife
Marilyn Thomas believed that by letting the green belt be built on now opened up the opportunity for urban sprawl
The plans are in their final stages of public consultation before theyll be sent to the governments planning inspector
Its criminal to consider mixing conservation villages with huge developments on areas of conservation, said the 80-year-old.
The fields were also home to wildlife treasures like barn owls, slow worms, snakes, and butterflies.
The buildings would displace all these animals, where will they go?
Her husband, John, said the council have failed the local residents by ignoring their concerns.
This just isnt the right place for more housing, the 72-year-old said.
The couple believe that there should have been more awareness raised about the plans instead of trying to keep it under the radar, suggesting a mass leaflet drop as an effective way to inform locals who will be affected.
The plans are in their final stages of public consultation before theyll be sent to the governments planning inspector for public examination next year.
Pushed through by a Lib Dem/Labour administration - who believe it was in the best interest for the area even if it was a difficult decision - the leader of the local Conservative Group condemned the plans to demolish large swathes of South Gloucestershires precious green belt.
Were not against house building, but its about building where its appropriate
The local Conservative Group believed the plans will result in worse outcomes for South Gloucestershire through the destruction of the local environment and a lack of proper infrastructure
Cllr Sam Bromiley said he stands shoulder to shoulder with residents who do not want to see their green spaces destroyed by an administration that is unwilling to consider any other course of action.
We support the drive to build more houses and believe that everybody should be entitled to live in a safe and warm home.
But the administrations plans will result in worse outcomes for South Gloucestershire through the destruction of the local environment and a lack of proper infrastructure, he said.
This is neither sensible nor sustainable.
Cllr Bromiley added that the green spaces were being targeted by the administration and the government instead of reducing red tape to allow cities and large population centres to grow in order to protect the green belt and precious green spaces that contribute towards biodiversity.
The Conservative candidate for Mayor of the West of England, Steve Smith, said these conditions were like the government holding a gun to your head saying if you dont meet this grossly-inflated target, the government will punish you by increasing the damage even further.
Steve Reade said Sir Starmers housing plans were madness.
The former Tory Parish Councillor said removing the red tape was akin to moving away from a democratic process to effectively a dictatorial authority.
Steve Reade, a former Tory Parish Councillor, said pushing the plans through was akin to moving away from a democratic process to effectively a dictatorial authority
The elites, the powerful, the people in these positions, they look at us as if we dont know anything, as if we are deplorables,
Lib Dem Councillor Chris Wilmore acknowledged that the governments demands for housing undoubtedly presented us with challenges
The 66-year-old called the goal to build 1.5 million houses an arbitrary number the Labour government are trying to reach and has become very much a commercial process.
He said this move was treasury driven who just went to make billions of pounds.
Lib Dem Councillor Chris Wilmore had previously said the Local Plan recognises that there is a desperate need for more homes, so that the next generation of local people have the choice to live here if they want to.
She acknowledged that the changes made to the planning system by the new government have undoubtedly presented us with challenges, in terms of the mandatory housing targets and the opening up to potential development of greenbelt land.
The proposals in this draft plan positively respond to those challenges, however, and will allow us to retain control of our planning system and make improvements to our local area over the next 15 years.
South Gloucestershire Council said the draft plan has already been subject to extensive public consultation, involving dozens of localised and well-publicised public briefings and drop-in sessions, which have led to positive and constructive engagement with residents, a range of local groups and other stakeholders.
We continue to encourage all residents to participate in the consultation process. Their feedback will be passed directly to the Planning Inspectorate who will consider their submissions alongside the draft plan.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said this government inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory which is why we are taking action to deliver 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change.
While brownfield and grey belt land should be prioritised, their reforms will protect our natural landscapes and deliver the homes and infrastructure we need, boosting the economy by £6.8 billion and restoring the dream of a secure home to families across the country.