A group of Thornbury residents are vowing not to give up in their fight against the changes made to Thornbury High Street, despite a major setback.

At a meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) last month £4.6 million was secured to progress South Gloucestershire Council's (SGC) vision for the future of the high street.

Metro mayor Dan Norris, head of Weca, had previously said he would block SGC leader Toby Savage's request for cash to make the scheme permanent because of concerns over how the public were consulted.

So instead of seeking the money from the Weca committee, Cllr Savage instead secured it from the regional joint committee, meaning Mr Norris did not have a vote.

Cllr Savage said: "Ultimately we are trying to help Thornbury High Street to overcome the challenges that face all of our high streets.

“We have consulted at various stages over the course of this scheme and as a result it has changed to what was originally put in, but I recognise there are significant concerns from residents."

The decision to grant the funding and approve the outline business case means detailed design work can now take place for the full business case ahead of another round of consultation.

Work on the high street is then expected to start in July and be completed by October 2023.

Thornbury Residents Association, members of whom read out statements against the high street scheme at the meeting, are continuing their opposition ahead of the full business case being submitted.

Rob Galpin, secretary of the group, said: "The residents association believe that the business case is fundamentally flawed throughout and that full, fair and respectful consultation has never at any stage been carried out since introduction of the high street closure at the start of the pandemic two years ago."

The association are holding meetings for their members on Thursday (today) and Monday at 7pm in Avon Hall at Turnberries.

A public meeting in the Conference Hall at Thornbury Leisure Centre will follow on March 16 at 7.30pm.