Frampton Cotterell homes plan rejected

Villagers and parish leaders are celebrating after planners rejected a scheme to build 220 new homes on a greenfield site in Frampton Cotterell.

A petition against the Barratt Homes Bristol application was signed by more than 700 objectors, with South Gloucestershire Council also sent nearly 170 letters opposing it.

Local people were worried such a large scale development would have a detrimental impact on their community and were supported in their opposition by Frampton Cotterell Parish Council.

They said so many homes would put extra traffic on already busy roads, lead to problems for the over-subscribed Ridings High School and make existing sewerage system problems worse.

They did not want to lose green space at the site next to Park Farm.

And they were concerned shop space within the development would take trade from village stores.

Kath Aldom, who lives near the site Barratt wanted to develop, acted as spokeswoman for residents when planners held a site meeting ahead of the application being voted on.

She said: "I'm thrilled at the outcome. I'm so pleased it has been rejected."

But she said residents had to be alert to any appeal that might be made by the developers against the decision.

She said: "Our communities are continually being eroded. We might be a large village but we are still a village and villages don't have big housing estates.

"I've lived here all my life and work hard so I can continue to do so because of the quality of life."

Planners turned down the outline application after a report from planning officer Sarah Tucker.

She said the Barratt site was outside the village development boundary and the developer's proposals would have "a significant harmful impact" on the distinctive character of the locality.

But Barratt claimed there was a "dire need" for housing in South Gloucestershire and it would get worse if greenfield sites were not brought forward for development.

The area it wanted to build on covered nearly 16 acres of arable land on the edge of Frampton Cotterell, bounded by Heather Avenue, Park Lane and the Park Farm estate, which the company built about 10 years ago.

Opponents accused the firm of submitting a premature scheme ahead of a final decision being made on how many new homes South Gloucestershire had to accommodate by 2026.

They also pointed to the economic climate affecting house building and sales but the development control committee was told the scheme had to be assessed on its own merits.