Housebuilding threat to town (From Gazette Series)

Housebuilding threat to town

8:05am Thursday 17th April 2008 in News By Jayne Bennett

PEOPLE in Chipping Sodbury are being warned about the threat of mass housebuilding in the ancient market town.

Back in February, more than 300 anxious Yate residents packed a public meeting to protest against 5,000 new homes planned for the north of the town.

But the latest document to be released at a recent South Gloucestershire Council meeting shows that large swathes of land around Chipping Sodbury are also being considered for development.

Potential sites for housebuilding include land on the currently undeveloped side of St John's Way and may even involve a threat to Sodbury Common.

Northavon MP Steve Webb urged people to make their views known on the plans.

He said: "We have already had a big response from the people of Yate to the threat of overdevelopment, but the council's document shows that the people of Chipping Sodbury also need to make their views known clearly and strongly.

"Housebuilding on the scale that the council is considering would have a devastating effect on the countryside around our towns and villages and would lead to traffic gridlock.

"I will be leading the fight on these absurd housing numbers in Westminster and we need local action as well to convince the council about the effect that these plans would have."

Cllr Linda Boon, a member of Yate Town Council and South Gloucestershire Council, who was at the meeting when the full scale of the search area was disclosed, is filled with horror at the potential consequences of the document.

"There's no area set for development, but South Gloucestershire has earmarked two main potential sites.

"The first is where the Waitrose is going, which in the main people have come to accept, but the second is the other side of St John's Way - and we knew nothing about that until the meeting.

"We are all filled with abject horror at the prospect - another 1,500 houses would double the size of Sodbury.

"We are trying to make people aware of the threat we are under but there is only a small window of opportunity for us to give our feedback - six weeks from the end of April to the beginning of June.

"We have been in consultation with Steve Webb and we hope to get a public meeting organised within the next month, although a date is yet to be confirmed."