Peter Madden: Let's invest in Bristol

Let's invest in south Bristol before we build in the countryside.

There's been loads of debate recently about what we build on the southern fringes of our city. There is the supermarket, the stadium, the arena, not to mention a planning application for thousands of new homes in Ashton Vale. On current government housing plans, over 100,000 new homes are to be built in the West of England, and there are plans to add on tens of thousands of new homes to the south of Bristol.

I'm not anti-development. Cities have to change and grow; we do need housing people can afford and jobs they can do. But we have to think carefully about the kind of change we go for and the impact it has on the city. South Bristol contains some of the worst-off parts of Bristol, with high unemployment and poor housing in neighbourhoods such as Hartcliffe and Withywood. People there deserve jobs and decent communities. I fear that lots of the proposals for new greenbelt development will just ignore the neighbourhoods that really require support.

We should build communities that work, that are properly served by public transport, where employment opportunities are located nearby and where the homes are high quality and energy efficient. We want to improve the city and enhance what makes it special, not just add soulless sprawl.

THE Government is claiming that it's still interested in the idea of a tidal barrage across the Severn estuary. Don't believe a word of it. This mega-scheme, to build a 10-mile long barrage right across to South Wales will be quietly booted into the long grass.

The barrage would cost a whopping £23bn to build – and probably even more if the costs overrun like they always seem to with other big infrastructure projects. With savage government spending cuts on the way, the highly contentious Severn barrage will be one of the first big schemes for the axe.

It would be much better to invest in small-scale tidal energy and wave technologies.

THIS month's green tip. With the letters piling up because of the postal strike, is it time to ask yourself how much of the mail you get you actually want? If you are drowning under junk mail, why not do yourself and the planet a favour by getting off the mailing lists? All you need to do is log on to the Mailing Preference Service website.