OUTRAGED residents in Thornbury voiced their opinions on a controversial 370-home proposed development that has applied for planning permission.

The plans submitted by Bovis Homes would see a new development being built behind the under-construction Thornbury Fields site.

With an estimated 1,500 new homes either awaiting approval or already with a green light, as well as the proposed 3,000-home Buckover Garden Village, this latest development has proven unpopular with residents, with many, including residents action group TRAPP’D having spoken out against it.

On Tuesday’s full meeting of Thornbury Town Council, more than a dozen residents spoke about their concerns for the site, now that planning permission has gone in, advising residents to make sure they also have their say.

Thornbury resident Annita Signorelli said: “I don’t see what the people of Thornbury will gain by Bovis building 370 houses out of the way in Thornbury.

“There is no motive for helping us and the community at all, it is all about money to them.”

Neil Pemberton, who lives on Crossways Lane, adjacent to the proposed development, said: “The improved infrastructure they are on about in their application serves only housing numbers and not the community, it is as far removed from Thornbury as you can get.

“Unless this is being supported by significant infrastructure for the town, I can’t see how it can go ahead.”

His father Ed Pemberton, a resident of Knapp Road in Thornbury, cited a planning application for a single house in Charfield that had been turned down, suggesting that every reason for rejection applied to the Bovis development.

He said: “If one house can fail so dramatically, then 370 can only be worse and should be rejected!”

Former town councillor Gill Dunkley argued that employment in Thornbury is no longer there, adding that by Bovis’ own figures, the development would be a full 36 minutes’ walk from the High Street.

Following the public participation, councillors were invited to discuss the application, with Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, chairman of the council’s town development committee, saying: “There are things about this planning application that you would laugh about if it wasn’t so sad.

She slammed the developer’s travel plan which suggests that “there are enough services nearby to encourage people to walk”, but that “everyone will have high speed internet to order everything to their door”, arguing that it would do nothing to integrate the homes with the rest of the Thornbury community.

Cllr Shirley Holloway raised her concern over the belief that there was formally a tip on the site, and that innocuous materials could be in the ground where the houses would go. This was supported by other councillors who said it was being investigated.

Comments can still be submitted to South Gloucestershire Council, but residents are encouraged to do it as soon as possible. The expiry date on the application is August 9.

A Bovis Homes spokeswoman said they believed the proposals offer “exciting opportunities for the community” including boosting the local housing stock and the economy, as well as creating jobs and contributing “significant” funds towards local infrastructure.

The spokeswoman added that after holding consultations, they are proposing to build a new community building which can be utilised for flexible use.