Petition aims to stop homes on Vale field

NEIGHBOURS are fighting to save a green field in the Vale from being turned into a new clos of eight houses.

More than 400 people have signed an online petition in a bid to prevent eight houses being built on this triangular field in the Vale, across the road from the Braye Road Industrial Estate.(Picture by Steve Sarre, 23121151)

A total of 414 people have already signed a petition to try to stop the project.

Hillstone Gsy Ltd has applied for planning permission to create the homes on the triangular field on Route du Braye, opposite Alliance.

Hillstone director and field owner Simon Holland said there was a desperate need for the properties.

‘This scheme provides homes ranging from two- to four bedrooms, which gives us units ranging in value from circa £350,000 up to circa £600,000,’ he said in the planning application. ‘This gives us a spread from first-time buyers up to family homes.’

In a study of the surrounding area, Mr Holland said on average this size of site would house 7.5 houses.

‘We have made good use of the space available, which has struck a good balance between providing the end user with a nice environment to live in and maximised the number of dwellings the site can accommodate.’

A group of residents in Les Mares Pellees, the road that runs behind the field, have set up a petition to try to stop the development.

‘This site is an oasis for nature in the suburban sprawl in the area,’ they wrote.

‘The proposed development will remove seven mature trees. It will replace a pretty green field typical of the Vale landscape with houses with tiny artificial grass “lawns” and paved areas, increasing the risk of flooding in a known flood-prone area.’

Five of the houses would border Route du Braye, while the other three would be along Les Mares Pellees.

Access for six would be through a new driveway created in Route du Braye. A new entrance would also be created close to the Route du Braye/Les Mares Pellees junction for one of the houses.

‘New vehicle entrances will be created near blind bends, junctions and bus stops, increasing the likelihood of road traffic accidents,’ the residents have said.

‘There is only one visitor parking space, so visitors will invariably abandon their cars in the surrounding area.’

Les Mares Pellees has been the subject of a number of new developments in recent years.

The plans can be viewed at Sir Charles Frossard House, with the consultation ending on Friday 23 November.

The petition can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2zTsCCX.