MORE THAN 100 people visited a roadshow in Thornbury last weekend, giving residents an insight into housing and infrastructure plans over the coming years for the area.

The event at the Armstrong Hall gave residents the chance to have their say on how the town could look in coming years under the next South Gloucestershire local plan, which is currently under development.

A local plan is the mechanism by which councils set the rules and requirements for new developments and will be informed in part by the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) which is currently being drafted.

The JSP, which provides targets for the various areas in South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset up to 2036, has initially outlined 600 new homes for Thornbury, which could include a number of prospective developments that are already put forward.

The cap however would not completely prevent further development if needed.

Residents were able to put their questions to SGC planners at the event and give their views on the priorities, character and type of new developments, should decisions be taken in the future to place growth in the area.

Similar events for Charfield and Coalpit Heath have taken place last month, with events for Yate and Chipping Sodbury taking place this Wednesday at Sodbury Town Hall, and for the proposed Buckover Garden Village at Falfield Village Hall on Friday. Both running from 2pm to 8pm.

Cllr Colin Hunt, SGC’s cabinet member for planning, transportation and the strategic environment, said: “We are pleased that the local community has been engaging constructively in these sessions, because their feedback will help us to ensure the plans we adopt in the future reflect their priorities.

“We need to plan for growth, not just in housing, but also in space for businesses to establish or expand, to provide job opportunities for the community.

“To deliver this in a sustainable way we want this community input to answer questions about what this growth should look like and what infrastructure and community facilities should be delivered alongside new housing or business premises.

“A good, strong Local Plan, based on sound evidence and local community input, means we are much better placed to demand that developers deliver what we want and need. We look forward to more local input from across South Gloucestershire next year when we will publish the full draft Local Plan.”

A first draft of the local plan is expected to go out for public consultation early next year.