Plans to destroy parts of the green belt in the rural Boyd Valley ward should be permanently shelved, Conservative councillors say.
Cllr Ben Stokes, Conservative representative for Boyd Valley on South Gloucestershire Council, has spoken out against plans by the council’s Liberal Democrat/Labour administration to put future housing developments in the green belt.
Under the coalition administration’s proposals, a site has been selected for 60 new houses on greenfield land in Pucklechurch and around 70 houses in the small village of Wick. A site has also been selected for 50 new houses off the A420 near Marshfield.
Proposals for developments on the outskirts of Boyd Valley will also likely have a negative impact on the rural ward, with plans for more than 100 new houses at Bridgeyate, 350 in Oldland Common and almost 1,000 on greenfield land just south of Goose Green.
Cllr Stokes, along with former Boyd Valley councillor Steve Reade, is campaigning hard against these developments and urging the Liberal Democrat/Labour administration in charge of South Gloucestershire Council to ditch the plans and protect the green belt.
Cllr Ben Stokes said: “It’s unacceptable that so much development has been proposed on greenfield sites. The Conservative Group is committed to protecting the green belt at all costs and we will continue to stand up for residents who rightly fear that our precious green spaces will be lost forever.
“While house building is needed to address the national shortage, we simply cannot allow the green belt to be demolished. The administration needs to go back to the drawing board and consider alternative solutions.”
Steve Reade said: “Cllr Stokes and I completely oppose the overdevelopment of our villages and the demolition of large swathes of green belt land. The green belt is intended to protect our villages from urban sprawl and it is unacceptable that it has been chosen as the location for future housing developments.”
