A campaign has been launched to fight a proposal to build 3,000 homes on Duchy of Cornwall countryside and farmland between Burnett and Corston near Bath.
Residents have launched a campaign against the plans | Photo © Burnett & Corston Protection Alliance
Bath & North East Somerset Council says there is a “potential site for development” with employment, shops and primary school, and has included it in its Local Plan Options Document for public feedback.
The Burnett and Corston Protection Alliance has been established and a programme of meetings is being rolled out to inform local residents and encourage them to respond to the consultation before the 16th April deadline.
Speaking at a meeting at Priston Village Hall, Robert Davies, chair of the B&NES District Group of countryside charity CPRE, described the proposal as a “grotesque suggestion” in terms of rural, environmental and ecological impact.
The site earmarked covers 300 acres of farmland, including acres of wildlife reserves, and completely surrounds Corston Fields Farm, which is one of the first zero carbon farms in the UK and an award-winner in the Duchy of Cornwall’s Habitat Award Scheme for its commitment to diversify and adopt sustainable farming methods.
B&NES Council has suggested the site be developed by the Duchy “who have a proven track record of delivering high quality, sustainable and mixed-use development”.
Gerald Addicott, who has been farming this land for over 40 years, said: “Approaching from the west on the A39, the first sight you get of Bath, lined in a newly-planted avenue of trees, is exactly the area where this development is proposed.
“It’s Green Belt, beautiful farmland and it will be gone forever. It’s also home to RSPB critically endangered species. What are B&NES thinking?”
