Conservative Group on South Gloucestershire Council
33,000 homes will ruin character of local neighbourhoods Councillors fear more bulldozing of family homes to make way for ugly blocks
of flats
Conservative councillors representing the South Gloucestershire part of the Bristol urban area fear that the Government's proposed 33,000 housing target will lead to a loss of family homes and a surge in the number of flats.
In July the Secretary of State started consulting on her 'proposed modifications' to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West. One of the key changes has been to increase South Gloucestershire's housing target
to 32,800. Not only are Ministers planning to roll-back Green Belt boundaries to make way for several 'urban extensions' but they are also specifying that 17,500 of this total must go in South Gloucestershire's part
of the Bristol urban area. These include areas like Filton, Downend and Mangotsfield.
Local councillors in these areas fear that in order to meet this target, there will be an increase in garden development - known as 'garden grabbing' - and an increase in the practice of knocking down family homes to make way for 'high-density' blocks of flats. Previous development of this sort has proved highly controversial as it has often proved out-of-keeping with the character of existing residential streets and added to existing traffic and
parking problems.
Conservative councillor for Filton, David Bell, said:
"The massive implications of nearly 33,000 homes have mostly concentrated on the loss of our precious Green Belt, but this arbitrary housing target will also profoundly change the unique character of neighbourhoods in already built-up areas, like Filton."
Fellow Conservative councillor for Filton, Brian Freeguard, added:
"We have already seen too many planning applications that seek to tear down family homes to make way for inappropriate blocks of flats just because they have higher densities. Not only do such developments make existing traffic and parking problems worse, but many of them prove to be ugly eyesores."
"If the Government imposes this ludicrous housing target, we can expect many more planning applications of this sort and so we urge local residents in built up areas to respond to the Government's housing consultation before
it's too late. It's not just the Green Belt that's at stake - it's also the unique character of your local neighbourhood."
