Roundways: Plans for 450 New Homes - Public Meeting - 1st December, 7pm

 Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath Parish Council are holding a meeting for residents at The Miners on 1st December at 7pm to discuss Bloor Homes' planning application for up to 450 new homes on the Land East of Roundways.

 As ward councillors we remain firmly opposed to Bloor Homes' plan and will be attending the meeting.

 Our reasoning is that the South Glos administration has prepared a draft Local Plan that is very clear about where all major housing development should go over the next 15 years or so. 

 That plan has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate and is at the very final stages of adoption. It uses a government formula to calculate the required housing numbers and carefully promotes strategic growth at sustainable locations.

 The South Glos plan does not allocate the Green Belt land off Roundways for development. Therefore this proposal is an attempt by a developer to sneak a speculative application in at the last minute before the new plan is adopted. It is not strategic; not sustainable; and not wanted by the administration at South Glos.

 Affordable housing IS clearly needed, but the Local Plan identifies nearby strategic locations for far bigger quantities of market housing and affordable housing than this site. It would be much better if developers could work with the new plan and explore those options rather than continuing to propose unwanted developments at unsuitable locations.