Plans for new Bristol homes in limbo

Plans to build 117,000 new homes in the Bristol area have been left in limbo because of legal action on the other side of England.

Campaigners welcomed the delay in approving the official planning blueprint for the region.

When launched, the regional spatial strategy (RSS) triggered unprecedented protests and warnings about the death of the green belt.

The proposed homes would be built across the former Avon area – South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset.

Now the Government has told council bosses it will not publish the final RSS for the whole of the South West at the end of this month as planned, because of a legal case involving the east of England version.

Jon Bright of the Government Office for the South West said the High Court gave an oral judgement on May 20 that the RSS for the east of the country "failed to meet certain requirements of the EU strategic environmental assessment directive in respect of policies relating to three towns".

They were considering what it meant for the region, but could not "reach a clear view" until the court issued a written judgement.

Members of the Shortwood Green Belt campaign travelled to Westminster earlier this year to protest against the impact on the quiet 100-home village in the edge of Bristol.

They said the green belt community would have another 1,000 dwellings imposed on it, after South Gloucester- shire's original figure of 21,500 new homes was increased to 33,000.

Campaign chairman Ron Morton said last night: "After 12 months of hard work, Shortwood Green Belt Campaign appears to have fought the Government to a standstill over its plans to build thousands of unwanted homes all around Bristol on supposedly protected green belt, none of which would have helped meet the social housing needs of the region.

"This delay makes it virtually certain the South West RSS cannot be carried through before the next General Election."