By Saul Cooke-Black

STROUD MP Neil Carmichael has joined the fight against controversial plans to build 80 homes on Grange Fields in Stroud.

Speaking at a meeting organised by campaigners on Thursday at the All Saints Centre in Uplands, Mr Carmichael said: “It should be protected and we need a local plan which protects areas like Grange Fields from being built on.

“We need more houses built but not on this particular site.

“There are plenty of places to build houses but don’t build them here, build them elsewhere.”

Among the concerns raised after plans were submitted by developers Charles Church was traffic congestion, with those attending the meeting fearing ‘gridlock’ and ‘chaos on the roads’.

Green county councillor Sarah Lunnon (Stroud central) urged campaigners to fight the proposal for legal reasons.

She said: “I would encourage people to write in their objections to the council but we also have to make a legal argument from a planning viewpoint.

“The strongest argument is surely that the fields are in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and there is legislation to say weight should be given to protect areas which fall into that category.”

Mike Little from Pitchcombe Parish Council said allowing the development could signal the start of more building in areas of designated beauty.

Stroud district councillor Chas Townley (Lab, Uplands) said: “Areas like this should be automatically protected. It is astonishing how much control has been ripped away from the system to leave areas like this vulnerable.

“The developers are looking at building large houses which is not in line with the local plan in the next five years.”

In a statement, Charles Church said: “We believe the site is within a highly sustainable location close to a range of transport connections and will deliver a range of homes including one, two, three and four bedroom properties including affordable housing.

“Over 50 per cent of the site will be retained as informal open space for the public to use and rights of way links to the AONB will be retained.”

The application reference is S.15/0834/OUT.