Fears town may not cope with 10,000 new homes

The hustings at Tewkesbury Abbey was chaired by Vicar Nick Davies

Parliamentary candidates have been questioned over whether a town and its road network will be able to cope with a new 10,000 home development.

The 'garden town' - which aims to put green, wildlife friendly spaces at the heart of the development - is set to be built near junction 9 of the M5 at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire.

Tewkesbury Borough Council recently rebranded the major plans as “a series of connected garden communities”.

The council said all of these new sites will need to be connected by well-planned, shared infrastructure, including secondary schooling, cycle paths and transport improvements.

It added its revised vision for the programme includes comprehensively planned, connected communities designed to encourage good growth.

Four of the six candidates for the Tewkesbury seat attended the hustings event at Tewkesbury Abbey on Tuesday.

The candidates were asked what plans were in place to support the current network and services.

Green Party candidate Cate Cody said the country was facing a housing crisis and explained the homes will be "built with infrastructure".

She added: “A true garden community can be brilliant. Places for nature, decent homes built to a really good standard with proper insulation.”

The development could see up to 10,195 homes built in the Ashchurch area

David Edgar, from the Christian People’s Alliance, fears traffic from Ashchurch will pile onto junction 9 of the M5.

He said he was concerned that new housing developments are not being built with a good road network.

“Roads aren’t everything but it’s a shame if all the traffic from the new estate piles into the road network.”

Conservative Laurence Robertson said he was working with Gloucestershire County Council, National Highways and Government ministers to make sure the road infrastructure is put in place before development.

Mr Robertson said he would not support the garden community proposals unless and until they come with infrastructure.

The candidates were asked what plans they have for public services to be able cope with the extra 10,000 homes

Liberal Democrat Cameron Thomas said Gloucestershire was one of the fastest growing counties in the UK.

His party wants to decentralise decision-making and proposes incentives to build on brownfield sites such as former industrial or commercial land.

He said he was conscious of the weight of feeling over the issue in Ashchurch and said local authorities do not have the clout or finances to be able to challenge developers.

“The more power and resources we can give to our local authorities the better position they will be as your local champions to represent your interests and not those of developers,” he added.

The Labour candidate, Damola Animashaun, and Reform UK candidate, Byron Clifford Davis, did not attend the event and have been approached for comment.