South Glos approves consultation on plan for thousands of homes

On Wednesday the ruling Conservatives on South Glos Council voted through the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP), which includes proposals for:

• 1,800 new homes at Coalpit Heath
• 2,000 homes plus employment land on the edge of Yate, between Engine Common and Nibley and down to Westerleigh, with 1,000 being built by 2036
• 1,200 at Charfield
• 3,000 at a new garden village at Buckover, with at least 1,500 of them being built by 2036
• 500 at Thornbury

Representatives of VALID, TRAPP'D and Falfield Action Group all spoke about their concerns, as did Cllrs Claire Young, Pat and Dave Hockey, John O'Neill and other Lib Dem Focus Team members. There was controversy when a TRAPP'D representative revealed an email they'd received via a Freedom of Information request - you can read more about that on the Gazette website.

If the other three councils vote the plans through, they will go out to consultation on 22nd November. This will be your last chance to write in with your comments so it's important you have your say. 

Next spring the plan along with all the comments will be submitted to the Secretary of State and a planning inspector will then hold a public inquiry. They can find the plan "sound", decide it needs some changes to make it sound or throw the plan out and tell the councils to start again.

Once the plan has been adopted it will be too late to change where the new development goes. The new South Glos Local Plan will just be adding in the details and possibly allocating smaller sites, it can't put the homes in a different place entirely from that allocated in the JSP. That is why it is so important to have your say in this consultation.