Villagers launch campaign to protect green belt from development (From Gazette Series)

Villagers in Almondsbury launch campaign to protect green belt from development

8:40am Thursday 9th February 2012 in Thornbury news By Marion Sauvebois

IRATE villagers in Almondsbury are pulling out all the stops to protect their threatened green belt from being ‘concreted over’.

What started off as a group of people opposing a scheme to build 140 homes on green belt land in Lower Almondsbury, has now become a full-blown campaign to fight an ‘unnecessary’ construction project.

‘We love Almondsbury’ members even spoke last week of their intention to set themselves up as a limited company to help achieve their goal of scuppering the developer's plans.

The action group is already very organised and has several sub-committees in charge of marketing, research and planning issues.

Chairman Julie Harvey told the Gazette they held a poll following County to County Property Group’s, the agent to the developer, first drop-in session highlighting the scheme and its benefits for the village.

All 160 people in attendance voted against building on the green belt.

Since up to 2,500 homes could be erected a few miles away on Filton Airfield, they deemed an extra 140 in Almondsbury unnecessary.

"Now we’ve got ourselves organised and we are ready to fight them if they put in an application," Mrs Harvey said.

"The development is inappropriate on the green belt and it would double the size of Lower Almondsbury. We love Almondsbury and we want to preserve it."

South Gloucestershire Council has already outlined its preferred development projects for the whole region in its Core Strategy and the Lower Almondsbury scheme is not one of them.

The village received a letter from the district’s planning department on December 14 stating that such a plan would not be approved.

We Love Almondsbury have all the bases covered and are in talks with the parish council to draft their own village planning blueprint to micro-manage future major building proposals.

Thomas Waldron, of County to County, said, however, that he had received a lot of positive feedback at the drop-in session last December.

"The result came to 50/50 with 50 per cent who were very much nimbies and 50 per cent who wanted to get more information about the project.

"This is a site surrounded by development so the question has to be asked - is that green belt allocation suitable for that piece of land?"

He added that additional parking could be built as part of the scheme to accommodate the school, church and GP practice.

"There are only two affordable housing units in Almondsbury and a third of the housing proposed could be affordable housing. Done correctly, this development could massively enhance the village."