New homes target sparked renewed causes for Chepstow bypass
Conservative councillor Nick Evans, who represents the Tidenham ward at the Forest of Dean District Council is calling on civic chiefs to listen to the 'overwhelming' response of residents in his area to a housing plan consultation, and back his campaign for a new bypass.
Cllr Evans, who has been beating the drum for a new Chepstow bypass since 2018, said that the message from residents in Sedbury, Tutshill and Beachley about the Local Plan was clear, and that as the plan needed re-writing following changes brought in by the Labour Government, this is an ideal chance to update the plan so it doesn't 'store up problems for the future'.
Fifty-nine objections and a further fifty-one observations to development in the most Southern ward of the District were raised by residents, with a great deal of these comments focusing on traffic congestion and the lack of services in the area.
'There was an overwhelming response to this latest consultation, as there has been to all the others about this local plan and its proposal to build a new village at Beachley,' he said.
'The message from local people is clear that with our roads and services as they currently stand, our area cannot cope with the developments that are proposed.
'Maps, statistics and reports don't provide the lived experience, that's why consultation is so important. People who live and work in this area are the ones who really know what it's like to have to deal with these ongoing problems on a daily basis and now is the time to listen to them.
'Unfortunately, the draft response that people will just be encouraged not to use their cars, and will need to work from home more is condescending and just doesn't match with the reality of people's lives.
'The working from home revolution over the last few years has made a change to traffic around Chepstow, just a bad one.
'It's now completely impossible to predict when there will be traffic congestion, and when an accident occurs, the whole area still becomes gridlocked.
'Without a Forest Gateway road to support this development, the lives of all these new residents, and those that are there already, will simply be made a misery.'
The district had initially planned to focus the new housing to be built in Lydney, Beachley and Newent.
The draft local plan anticipates building a new 1,300 homes in the Severnside town and 600 homes at Beachley Barracks.
But new rules set out by the Labour Government within weeks of the 2024 General Election means the District Council now needs to find space for an additional 5400 houses in the Forest.
And with the previous plan being unable to deliver this development, planners have to explore other ways to meet the new target, Cllr Evans says.
'With the Government sending the District's plan back to the drawing board, there is an ideal opportunity to finally recognise that this development simply cannot go ahead without a new road being built to support it,' he said.
'A great deal of preparation has already been done, and rather than tell people that they cannot use their cars, there is a real chance here to deliver a plan that will actually work, rather than storing up problems for future generations.'
District Council unanimously agreed at their meeting on April 17 to review the current agreed Local Plan Strategy and explore alternative strategic options for Local Plan preparation, which will be considered by councillors at a later date.
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