PROPOSALS to build around 200 homes on green-belt land on the edge of Keynsham have been met with local opposition.
Persimmon Homes Severn Valley wants to develop just over nine hectares of arable land to the west of Charlton Road.
Its agents, Nexus Planning, asked Bath and North East Somerset Council whether they would need to submit an environmental impact assessment (EIA) before submitting a planning application.
EIA development is defined under regulations as “development likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location.”
Nexus say that the proposed development would not give rise to any “unacceptable” landscape and visual harm.
But B&NES Council has concluded that the development was likely to have significant environmental effects – particularly concerning landscape and transport – in view of other potential housing developments to the north and south-east of the site. An environmental statement would therefore be needed to address these concerns.
Independent B&NES councillor Alan Hale has written to the council expressing his opposition to the proposals.
He said Charlton Road was already over-burdened with traffic and that the extra vehicles generated by the proposed development would make matters worse.
Cllr Hale described the road as the “de facto missing link” of the Avon Ring Road, carrying an average of 8,000 vehicles a day, including 250 HGVs. It was also the feeder road from South Gloucestershire to Bristol Airport and the route to four schools.
He added: “Parking provision in the town is already at capacity and despite all aims to reduce the use of cars by the administration, in the real world the majority of people are and will continue to use their cars as part of their life.
“The town lacks support provision for its community in that there is very limited, if indeed there is any, NHS dental services.
“There are only two GP practices in the town and from experience it is not easy to achieve a GP appointment at St Augustine’s currently and additional homes at Somerdale will add to that problem.”
Cllr Hale said local residents faced the prospect of even more upheaval, because of other potential housing developments neighbouring the site.
He said: “The residents of Charlton Road north of Longmeadow Road have had to endure some ten years of construction traffic.
“My ward, Keynsham South, has witnessed four new developments in the last 14 years. Enough is enough.”
His views were echoed by local residents on social media.
One said: “I have no objection to additional housing in principle, but first of all the infrastructure must be put in place.
“Keynsham is becoming nothing more than a dormitory for Bristol and Bath for those who can’t afford to live in either city. As a result, a lot of young people born and brought up in Keynsham, who would like to continue living here, are no longer able to do so.”
Another said: “Keynsham is being squeezed between Saltford, Whitchurch and Bristol and is losing its identity, and definitely doesn’t have the infrastructure to support residents now, so to build hundreds more houses will cause unbelievable pressure on services.”
Although there are no detailed proposals at this stage, it is envisaged that 45% of the new homes would be “affordable”.
Two access roads are proposed – one from the existing three-arm Charlton Road/Linnet Way roundabout and another about 25 metres north of the Aesop Drive junction.
The development would have open green spaces, allotments, a community orchard, equipped play areas and an informal kick-about area to the south-west of the site.
Construction would take between one to two years.
Land to the west of Charlton Road has already been earmarked for potential new housing development in B&NES Council’s Local Plan Options report.
The draft Local Plan will undergo a public consultation this autumn before its formal adoption, anticipated to be next spring.
‘Enough is enough’ – Keynsham homes bid opposed
