A CONTROVERSIAL 370-home development in Thornbury has been opposed by South Gloucestershire councillors, but the proposals could still be approved by planning inspectors.

Members of the South Gloucestershire Council development control committee voted unanimously this afternoon to reject the "Land South of Gloucester Road" proposals put forward by Bovis Homes, which outline a new development adjacent to Crossways Lane, and behind the under-construction Thornbury Fields site.

But as the council was unable to make a formal decision in the allotted time, the developer appealed against the non-determination, rendering the vote effectively redundant, with the final decision to be made by the planning inspectorate.

As the latest in a series of proposed developments in Thornbury, resulting in a combined 1,500 prospective and approved new homes, the Bovis site, which also includes a “flexible use” building and public open space, received a great deal of opposition from residents and councillors.

Claims have been made by campaigners that the town’s infrastructure is already under considerable pressure, while others have argued that the site’s proximity to the proposed 3,000-home Buckover Garden Village could cause issues for the new settlement.

Making a decision was still a required formality at the meeting, with the committee voting to support recommendations made by planning officers to reject the plans, based on 13 reasons including the fact the develop lies outside the existing settlement boundary, a failure to provide safe, convenient and attractive access to the site and the application providing insufficient environmental and archaeological information.

With the decision not being made during the meeting, the developer chose not to address the committee to defend their plans, the only speakers on the case were Colin Gardner, co-chairman of residents’ action group TRAPP’D (Thornbury Residents Against Poorly Planned Development) and South Gloucestershire and Thornbury town Cllr Maggie Tyrrell.

After the unanimous vote, Mr Gardner said: “It’s the result we expected and we are very pleased to see it was unanimously rejected, which is the right thing to do. The discussion and the reasons for refusal were both very good.

“Even though the decision on the development wasn’t made today, as it will go to the planning inspectorate, it is still important at this stage for it to be rejected.

“The real battle will still be in September when it goes to inquiry.”

Cllr Tyrrell added: “This has given South Gloucestershire Council officers a good base to work from with our legal counsel to defend the position and we can only hope the inspector at the inquiry will follow the logic of the arguments.

“If you are going to get any sort of proper planning done you are going to have to take account of your own planning rules, right from government and JSP to the local plan.

“We will be working pretty closely with TRAPP’D as our reasoning is very much the same with these things in preparing our case to go to that inquiry, with the local view and the local knowledge fed into it.”

Also in responce to the decision, a Bovis Homes spokeswoman said: “These proposals include much-needed affordable homes for the Thornbury area and will include 28 acres of public green spaces for the benefit of the whole community, including a country park, play areas and allotments.

"The delivery of the proposals would see the creation of jobs and offer a boost for local businesses and the economy, while significant contributions would be made to the council to fund local infrastructure. 

“Bovis Homes appealed non-determination of the outline application for 370 homes at the end of November 2017. The matter is now with the Planning Inspectorate and we look forward to the inquiry, which begins in September.”