Campaign launched against proposed Green Belt housing
30 July 2008
A CAMPAIGN opposing plans to build almost 33,000 homes on a Green Belt in South Gloucestershire has been put online.
The campaign website - www.nowayto33k.com - has been launched in response to the recent announcement that the Government's Regional Spatial Strategy has increased the number of homes planned by 2,000, to almost 32,800.
The website offers concerned residents the opportunity to voice their fears over the proposals, as well as download posters calling for 'No way to 33k' to be placed in their windows.
It forms one part of a high-profile drive against the controversial proposals by local campaigners Chris Skidmore, Jack Lopresti and Matthew Riddle.
In the coming weeks, residents across those parts of Kingswood - including Warmley, Oldland Common, Emersons Green and Mangotsfield - will be sent a survey to complete.
Once collated, the results will be submitted as part of a comprehensive report as part of the current consultation process over the plans, which ends in October.
Chris has already attended and spoke at a local community meeting held in Warmley, urging residents to get involved in the campaign.
He will also run a series of road show-style public meetings in those local areas affected, informing local residents how they can best get their views across.
The campaign has already received the backing of Conservative councillors across South Gloucestershire and Kingswood.
Chris, the Conservative Prospective MP for Kingswood, Jack (Conservative PPC for Filton & Bradley Stoke) and Matthew Riddle (Conservative PPC for Thornbury & Yate) said their campaign was designed to "take the fight" to the Government.
Speaking at the launch, Chris said: "This new 'No Way to 33k' campaign is designed to highlight the level of concern over the Government's plans to eat up our Green Belt and swamp the local Kingswood area with houses that the local infrastructure can't cope with.
"It is a campaign designed to obtain cross-party support across South Gloucestershire, so that we can work together to reduce the number of homes planned in the local area.
"This is the most serious issue facing the residents of my local area- if the Government's plans go ahead, they will completely destroy the rural character of where we live.
"South Gloucestershire council has stated that it cannot deal with the sheer volume of extra houses planned, and it's ludicrous to be forcing this number of houses upon us when our ring road won't manage the extra volume of traffic and the local hospital has been downgraded.
"That's why I've helped to launch this new vital campaign- for the sake of protecting our countryside for future generations, we must do all we can to fight these catastrophic plans."
The "No Way To 30K" campaign has key objections to the Government's proposed levels of additional housing in the Kingswood area:
• there will be a significant loss of the Green Belt, as well as loss of valuable wildlife habitats, such as the such as the Siston Conservation Area and threats to the new areas of woodland planting around Siston village and at Warmley Forest Park as part of the Forest of Avon;
• once you start expanding Kingswood eastwards into the Green Belt, when do you stop?
• the separate and distinctive character of different communities, such as Siston village, will be threatened;
• the economic and social decline in certain neighbourhoods in Kingswood, Staple Hill and Cadbury Heath will mean that new residents will need to travel to work - adding to existing traffic problems;
• congestion will get worse on the Avon Ring Road, M4, M32 and other local roads;
• the radical downgrading of Frenchay hospital means that current and additional residents will not have access to good health services;
• new homes built in this area are likely to be exposed to poor air quality and noise with proximity to Avon Ring Road, M4 and M32;
Last month, Chris collected hundreds of petition signatures calling for the Government to reduce the number of homes planned for South Gloucestershire, which were submitted as part of the consultation process. Residents are still able to sign this petition at www.chrisskidmore.com .
ENDS
For more information, please contact Chris Skidmore on 07792 426791 or cskidmore@hotmail.com.