Conservative councillors in Bitton and Oldland Common are this week urging South Gloucestershire Council to ditch its “damaging” plans to build on the Green Belt.
Cllrs Paul Hughes and Erica Williams say that proposals to build houses on large swathes of greenfield land in the area should be permanently shelved.
The Liberal Democrat/Labour administration in charge of South Gloucestershire Council has set out its plans for house building over the course of the next 15 years. Under these controversial proposals, significant chucks of Green Belt land around Warmley, Siston, Oldland Common and Willsbridge are earmarked for development.
But the Conservative Group is fighting back against these plans, on the grounds that the Green Belt should be protected. And Paul and Erica are leading the fightback in the Bitton and Oldland area.
Cllr Paul Hughes said: "We believe building on Green Belt land is the wrong approach. Destroying our local environment will not solve the housing crisis we see in London and other major cities. We should be focusing new homes on brownfield land and in cities which have better infrastructure.
“Building these thousands of homes will simply congest our roads and our already busy doctors and dentists."
Cllr Erica Williams said: “It’s unacceptable that so much development has been proposed on greenfield sites. The Conservative Group is committed to protecting the green belt at all costs and we will continue to stand up for residents who rightly fear that our precious green spaces will be lost forever.”
The sites in Bitton and Oldland Common that are earmarked for development, and which Paul and Erica want to see protected, include land adjacent to Bitton Sports and Social Club, Jarrett’s Yard, Park Farm on Barry Road and a parcel of land at Willsbridge.
The land at Park Farm is used to grow crops to help feed the population. Arable land located in the Green Belt should be protected to ensure sustainable farming methods are able to continue, rather than be displaced by urban sprawl.
