Town councillors back revised blueprint proposing 500 new homes (From Gazette Series)

Town councillors back revised blueprint proposing 500 new homes in Thornbury

8:30am Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Thornbury news By Marion Sauvebois

A REVISED planning blueprint proposing 500 homes are built at Park Farm in Thornbury has been backed by town councillors amid heated scenes at the Cossham Hall last week.

Hundreds of residents, many of them living near Morton Way, attended the town council’s special meeting to discuss South Gloucestershire Council's revised Core Strategy.

A majority of them spoke in favour of approving the document, which proposes to welcome a major 500-house development at Park Farm, close to the now listed medieval fishponds.

Land by Morton Way has been put forward as an alternative building site for the homes and householders urged councillors to protect this rural land and vote for development at Park Farm instead.

Yet, several members of the public strongly disagreed with this view. Some even slated district councillors for running a ‘"disgraceful" campaign to get the Park Farm site signed off when it was first proposed.

Christine Ricard, a member of Save Thornbury’s Green Heritage, an action group created to protect the medieval fishponds, said at the meeting: "The Core Strategy for Thornbury is flawed. The location of Park Farm was put forward by a steering group; a group that kept no notes and no minutes. We don’t understand this choice."

Councillors were also divided on the subject. Independent Cllr Gareth Davies said: "The previous inspector who reviewed the first draft of the strategy said that Thornbury was clearly unsuited for strategic housing.

"The heritage department at the council told planners that the project was fundamentally flawed. I’m asking the council not to go ahead with this."

Yet despite opposition in the room, a majority of councillors voted in favour of the new core strategy. They claimed their decision would help regenerate the town and attract young people to Thornbury.

Cllr Maggie Tyrrell told the public before the vote: "I have defended the town’s green fields for many years and to come to the conclusion that the town needs housing has been very difficult. We need more people to use the shops and more young people in the town.

"We looked at all the sites and the ‘least worst’ was Park Farm. I am going to vote the way I am going to vote tonight and it has nothing to do with party politics."