Bristol Ring Road countryside 'may vanish' under 20,000 homes

Councillors warn villages such as Warmley and Siston could merge

The countryside east of the Bristol Ring Road could vanish under a council's plan for 20,000 new homes, councillors warn.

South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet agreed the 15-year blueprint outlining where homes will be built last week.

Conservative leader Sam Bromiley warned the green belt by the A4174 would be "lost pretty much entirely".

However, councillor Chris Willmore said the plans would help tackle "shocking" employment inequalities.

The authority's masterplan details homes, jobs and infrastructure and will be sent out for public consultation next month, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Speaking in the council meeting on 13 November, Mr Bromiley warned that the villages of Warmley, Shortwood and Siston could merge.

He said: "[East Fringe] residents feel that this administration has overlooked the fact that Warmley is a village, with the thousands of homes planned for Warmley and Shortwood which would effectively potentially merge the two areas together."

He added people were "losing sleep" over unavailable drawings detailing where homes may or may not be built.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Willmore said detailed maps would be published when the public consultation launches on December 4.

'No magic land tree'

Ms Willmore, who is in charge of planning at the council, said in the meeting: "It's easy to make a promise that you're not going to touch the green belt until you do the sums and you discover they simply don't add up.

"There is no magic land tree, we are not Hong Kong, we don't invent new land, we have a limited supply of land, and when you've taken off the table all the bits of land that can't be developed for various reasons, you are left with saying reluctantly the only places it can go are in the greenbelt."

Ms Willmore said there were more jobs than working-age residents in the North Fringe but that in the East Fringe there was just 0.4 of a job for every adult.