Column by Thornbury and Yate MP Luke Hall.

For the last few years we have been fighting the poorly thought-out plans to double the size of Charfield and Coalpit Heath, dramatically expand the beautiful village of Iron Acton and build a 3,000 home Buckover ‘Garden Village’ just metres from Thornbury.

We took the fight to Ministers at the top of Government and held debates in the House of Commons to lay out robust arguments as to why these plans were so deeply flawed. We presented strong technical submissions at every consultation opportunity and conducted a local development survey to demonstrate our community’s opposition to the proposals.

After years of fighting, South Gloucestershire Council will formally make the decision to ditch these plans on Wednesday, February 12. Whilst we are all delighted that we have stopped these poorly thought out proposals in their tracks, there is still a real risk that they could come back in another form.

These next few months are pivotal. We must ensure that our beautiful green spaces and villages are protected. If these housing plans are to be redrafted, then we must not be dumped with more than our fair share of housing. We have proved that our community is not an easy target for a rehash of the former flawed plans.

Any future housing proposals in South Gloucestershire must have the necessary improvements for health, transport and community facilities. They must also have the support of our communities, villages and hamlets.

I am so grateful to the community for all the amazing support throughout this fight against inappropriate development. I will be working with local groups and campaigners to keep everyone up to date on the vital part of our Positive Plan for South Gloucestershire: Protecting our greenspaces and environment by fighting flawed housing developments.

We must work together to make sure any future development is sustainable and supports the community. If you have any thoughts about the future of housing in South Gloucestershire, please do not hesitate to get in touch; luke.hall.mp@parliament.uk.