In the coming months, South Gloucestershire Council will be taking important decisions about where to build large housing developments, how often to collect our bins and how much to invest in our roads.
Our towns and villages have seen unprecedented levels of housing in the past few years. South Gloucestershire does not have the infrastructure to accommodate thousands more houses at the expense of our local infrastructure. That’s why this new Council should place protecting our greenspaces and our greenbelt at the heart of its mission.
Our greenbelt must be protected at all costs, and brownfield sites should be prioritised for housing development above all else. It is also time for urban areas like Bristol and Bath to take their fair share of housing.
I have received clear written assurances from Government Ministers that areas such as Bristol should be taking an additional 35% of housing need to stop further pressure being put on our GP services, our schools, and our roads.
With a new Council administration now in place, it is vital that Bristol facing Labour Politicians, and Liberal Democrat politicians, keep up this fight, and pledge to defeat these unacceptable proposals for our community.
The Council has to invest in bus services, support rural and village schools and increase the budget to improve our roads. But above all, it will be judged by how well it protects our greenbelt and our green spaces from overdevelopment.
South Gloucestershire is the best place in the country to live, work and raise a family. No wonder developers want to build here. However, we cannot allow the Council to give the green light to developments which put our roads, GP services and schools under further pressure. Protecting against overdevelopment needs to be this Council’s core mission.
