A crucial battle in the war over the Hanham Green Belt takes place this month.
The plans for up to 140 homes at The Batch will go before a Government planning inspector.
The outline scheme put forward for the 20-acre site was turned down by South Gloucestershire Council last August. Councillors, who had received more than 1,500 objections, said the proposals, which include demolition of a home in Hencliffe Way to create an access road, should be refused because the site was in open countryside in the Green Belt.
But the developers, Ashfield Land and Redrow Homes, appealed against that decision so a planning inquiry will be held at the council offices in Yate, beginning on May 7.
They will argue that the site at The Batch has been put forward for removal from the Green Belt in the council’s draft Local Plan, and therefore is suitable for development in the context of the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework, which is aimed at ensuring enough homes are built across the country to meet demand.
Hanham District Green Belt Conservation Society is urging supporters to participate in the planning inquiry,
“Continued public engagement and attendance at the inquiry remain vital. The strength of community feeling around this issue has already made a significant impact.
“Let’s continue to show the planning inspector just how much The Batch means to Hanham and the surrounding area,” the society said in its spring newsletter.
The society will take part in the annual Hanham Common Fayre on May 10, organised by Hanham Abbots Parish Council, where it will be raising funds towards its campaign.