IT IS bad enough that the people of Thornbury have to deal with the constant pressure on their town from new housing constantly being given the green light, but now the buyers of the houses are being affected, are developers taking it too far?

Thornbury has repeatedly complained about how its already under-strain infrastructure would finally buckle if more development is allowed.

To suddenly increase in size by a third within a couple of years, and add the prospect of a new 3,000-home village on the outskirts, is a lot to ask, especially when so many are arguing against it.

But now that the first-time buyer market has been targeted, it is safe to say that all are becoming victims to the villainous developers.

The system in place to defend towns like Thornbury from these attacks is clearly not robust enough to repel the applications and appeals that are constantly bombarding the town, leaving the would-be hero in the story, South Gloucestershire Council, watching powerless from the sidelines.

The question that faces the town, and others around the country in a similar position, what can be done?

It would unfortunately appear right now that the answer is “very little”.