MORE than 60 people took part in a protest march against South Gloucestershire Council’s plans to make Green Belt land available for housing.
The demo, organised by pressure group South Our Green Spaces South Gloucestershire (SOGS-SG), was held between Warmley and Bridgeyate on September 7.
It came ahead of the closure of the latest stage of a consultation on the council’s Local Plan, a 15-year blueprint for future development, including potential sites for more than 22,000 new homes.
A group of about 60 people took part in the march, which was held as a new petition against the proposals was launched on the change.org website.
Among those taking part was Jill Barnes, from Mangotsfield, who said: “There was a great spirit and camaraderie on the march, with more than 60 people taking part.
“We had lots of beeps from passing motorists. We were led by 95-year-old John Lawrence, who was born near Siston Common.”
The group’s petition can be found online at tinyurl.com/6we5xsf9 and volunteers will also be out collecting signatures around the area in the coming weeks.
An update to the Local Plan unveiled in the summer added 17 new sites, with a total of 1,751 homes, to the previous draft published last November.
These include 140 homes in the Green Belt at Frenchay Christmas tree farm between the M32 and Old Gloucester Road, 35 at Frenchay Forestry in Common Mead Lane, Frenchay, and seven on a site at Pomphrey Hill, Mangotsfield.
They have been added to proposals announced last year to allocate land near Shortwood for 1,430 new homes, with another 800 north of Lyde Green and 195 at Cossham Street in Mangotsfield, on a field owned by developer Taylor Wimpey.
The latest public consultation ended on September 13. Once the feedback has been processed, a final version of the Local Plan will be prepared and consulted on again next January.
It is expected to be submitted next June for examination by a planning inspector, which is likely to take place in October of that year, with a view to adoption by April 2026.
However the council may have to go back and find sites for more new homes in the light of changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which underpins the planning system, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
The changes could see another 6,000 homes added to the target for South Glos.