A WHITCHURCH farming family are standing firm to save Bristol's green belt, despite offers of up to £8 million for their land.

Paul and Jill Britten say they are standing up against a "tsunami of property development" to try to protect the countryside on Bristol's doorstep – although property developers are offering £50,000 per acre for Whitewood Farm, which is more than 3,000 per cent higher than offers made a little under five years ago.

As the Brittens survey the rolling fields of their farm on the edge of Whitchurch, the city of Bristol looms beyond the hedge to the north.

At Whitewood Farm, the concept of the "green belt" is immediately apparent, as the urban sprawl halts in a perfect green line.

But all that could change. For the past five years the family, who have farmed their 160 acres of land since 1957, have had a metaphorical JCB digging arm hanging over their heads.

Mr Britten, 65, said: "I look at the streets of modern housing down there, and it feels like a rising tide heading towards us. Since my father took on this farm in the 1950s, when I was just 12 years old, I've watched all these houses rise up and I've never minded a steady trickle. But what we're faced with now is more like a tsunami."

Bath and North East Somerset Council's Regional Spatial Strategy had plans for this verdant swathe of land – and it involved 9,000 homes swamping the Britten's organic beef farm and many of the nearby properties.

The Brittens have regularly had to turn away property developers flashing their chequebooks at the farm door.

While many of the neighbouring farmers have taken the tempting offers of cash, the Brittens have stood fast to their desire to preserve the landscape. They now stand almost alone in refusing to sell their farmland.

Mr Britten said: "The way I see it, a hundred men farmed this land before me and I'd like another hundred to be able to farm it after I'm gone.

"I feel I'm simply a custodian of this entire way of life. I don't feel I have the right to sell it and allow anonymous new housing to consume the place. It's far too beautiful for that."

Mrs Britten says: "We understand there is a need for new housing, but we don't believe the need is anything like on this scale. This is just about greedy property developers wanting to make as much money as possible.

"The green belt was created for a reason – primarily to prevent urban sprawl."

Last week Mrs Britten went to Westminster for a one-to-one meeting with Steve Quartermain, the Government's chief planner.

She said: "It was a very positive meeting. My understanding is that this Government will scrap the last Government's Regional Spatial Strategy, and B&NES will have to go back to the drawing board and properly justify the construction of any new homes on the green belt."

But in turbulent times for the farming industry, there have been plenty of tempting offers.

Mrs Britten, 66, explains: "The property developers offered us £1,500 for every acre of land at first. We turned them away, and they came back and offered us £2,500 for every acre.

"The last time they knocked on our door, the offer was for £50,000 for every acre of the farm. You don't have to be too good at maths to realise, we're now talking about a hell of a lot of money. But we're determined to stick to our principles with this.

"The farm is not for sale, and our four daughters are 100 per cent behind us with the decision. Each time the developers come back, there is a growing sense of threat – the suggestion being that if we don't take their cash, eventually the farm will be taken by a compulsory purchase order. It keeps us awake at night.

"The first thing we knew about the proposals was about five years ago, when I received a letter from B&NES asking for permission to come on to the farm to carry out an archaeological survey.

"It didn't give an explanation, and I didn't reply. The next I knew, I looked out of my window one day to see a team of men in fluorescent jackets heading onto our land to start digging without permission. I chased them away, but at that point I realised we needed to do a lot more digging to find out what was really going on."

As the scale of the proposed developments became apparent. Mrs Britten joined forces with neighbour Mary Walsh, who lives further down Norton Lane. to set up the Whitchurch Village Action Group in opposition to the plans.

"We went along to a meeting at B&NES and we couldn't believe what we were hearing," Mrs Walsh, 66, said.

"The council already had plans drawn out on a map of what would be built where.

"It was truly horrifying. When you see a warehouse on a map where your home should be, you quickly realise you need to start doing something about it."

Mrs Britten and Mrs Walsh set about getting Whitchurch people onside.

"We knocked on thousands of doors, and gave residents stamped addressed envelopes so they could write their own letters of protest. An incredible 50 per cent of locals did so."

To date Whitchurch Village Action Group (WVAG) has collected and sent 4,664 letters to the Government and 2,553 letters to MPs.

"We additionally joined the SOGS saveourgreen spaces.org action group, which covers the green belt issue around the whole of Bristol," Mrs Britten adds.

"We may be threatened by 9,000 new homes here – but there are 33,000 new homes threatening the entire Bristol green belt.

"We will carry on and fight for our farm, and we'll do whatever it takes to prevent our world being snatched from us."