99 homes would be just the start, fear locals as objections to house-building on the Green Belt at Saltford flood in

Keynsham Town Council's planning and development committee this week unanimously objected to Crest Nicholson's plans to build 99 homes on the Green Belt in Saltford.

And objections from Saltford residents continue to pour in against the scheme for fields at Manor Road including an 878-signature petition.

Claverton Road resident Merralyn Quick wrote to the council to say she felt Crest Nicholson ultimately wanted to build thousands of homes in the area.

She said: "I would ask if anyone from the council has actually visited the Manor Road entrance at Saltford School at 8.45am and 3pm. The road is totally congested and reduced to one lane. The proposed plans include a layby opposite the school entrance. How are children suppposed to cross the road? It is an accident waiting to happen."

She added that many children walked from Saltford to Wellsway School along the narrow back lane which was already "extremely dangerous for pedestrians" and that the new development would generate even more traffic.

She continued: "The impact on the A4 is beyond comprehension. Again I would ask someone from the council to try and turn right from Manor Road onto the A4, especially during rush hours. You have no choice but to 'push out'.

"This development will produce extra cars trying to get on to the A4 which is already at capacity. The queues at Manor Road will be horrendous as it is well known that drivers will cut along Claverton Road to come out on to the A4 from Manor Road rather than try their luck at Grange Road.

"There is an entrance to Saltford School on Claverton Road and the congestion at school times is worse than Manor Road. Again another accident waiting to happen with the increased traffic.

"It should also be borne in mind that there are plans to open a railway station in Saltford. Even more traffic on the A4.

"Crest Nicholson (or any other developer) are there for one reason and one reason only - to make money. They don't look at a year ahead or even five years. They will be laying the seeds now for maybe ten years. They are not looking at a mere 99 houses, they are looking into the future and thousands of houses. Anyone who thinks differently, with respect, are extremely naive or knows nothing of how big developers operate."

Mrs Miller, from Grange Road, echoed her thoughts, saying: "We cannot allow this application to go ahead and create a domino effect on Green Belt areas around Saltford."

And Sue Dixon, from Claverton Road West, said in her letter of objection: "There is no infrastructure in place to support up to 400 new residents in the village. Saltford School is already full and requires temporary mobile classtooms to accommodate the current school population... there would also be additional demands on other key local services serving the needs of existing residents, eg Saltford Surgery."