Suzanne Savill: A new planning blight is hitting Bristol

Skips in the street are supposed to be a sign that an area of Bristol is improving.

On this basis, Totterdown must be on the up. I encountered numerous builders' vans, shrieking drills and thudding hammers while walking through there the other day.

Similar changes have been taking place in the terraced houses of St Agnes. In St Paul's, large Victorian houses on Ashley Road that were empty and boarded up a few years ago have been turned into flats, and Georgian properties in Portland Square are being renovated.

It seems that the shadow that was cast over large areas of central Bristol by a planned outer circuit road that was never completely built has finally been lifted.

When we moved to Bristol about a decade ago, I couldn't understand why there were so many rundown properties compared to other city centres.

It all made sense after someone told me about Bristol's 'planning blight', caused by a 1970s scheme to build a ring road, complete with flyovers and giant roundabouts, through residential areas.

After widespread protests the scheme was scrapped, but by then the road had been built through Easton, and 500 homes had been demolished in Totterdown.

Now there is a growing confidence in the heart of the city – yet, ironically, something ominous seems to be happening on the outskirts.

Planning blight damaged central Bristol in the 1970s. Now it appears the suburbs and green belt risk being harmed because of concerns about proposed developments such as the South Bristol ring road, the new town of Ashton Park off the A38, and the expansion of Bristol Airport.

A few days after my trip to Totterdown, I visited a village to the west of Bristol.

While I was there, I was surprised to see the village pub was boarded up. In another village, I noticed a house had been closed up using the sort of metal sheeting that was a familiar sight in central Bristol a few years ago.

You only have to drive around the Bristol area or look at the local property websites to notice that 'Sold' signs are generally appearing more quickly beside properties in central Bristol than those in the outer suburbs and villages.

Most people who want to move out of the city are going to think twice about going somewhere that could end up being near to a new town of 10,000 homes, a new road, or increased flights from the airport.

According to the Regional Spatial Strategy, more than 117,000 new homes need to be built in the former Avon area by 2026.

Try telling that to anyone living in the suburbs or villages around Bristol who hasn't been able to sell a home that would have been snapped up a couple of years ago – but is now being affected by a new planning blight.