A PROPOSAL for 125 homes on the edge of a village should be dismissed “in style” by Forest planners, say opponents.

Cheshire-based Gladman Developments has applied for permission for houses on land off Carisbrook Road in Mitcheldean.

But opponents say there is no need for the greenfield plan as Mitcheldean already has a full allocation of housing sites.

Around 150 villagers attended a public meeting at Mitcheldean Community Centre last Thursday (January 9) with all those speaking expressing opposition.

They say it is outside the village development boundary, is on prime agricultural land and has not been identified by the Forest Council as suitable for housing.

Gladman says it will bring market and social housing to the village, allowing people who previously could not afford to buy in Mitcheldean the opportunity to move there.

But opponents are confident there are sufficient grounds to have the proposal defeated and want to see planners reject it by some margin.

Lucy Smith, who is part of the team working on Mitcheldean’s Neighbourhood Development Plan, said: “ “The more we get it thrown out in style, the less chance they have of appealing it.

“One of the things that came back through the NDP was that people wanted the brownfield sites and the empty buildings in the Mitcheldean settlement boundary to be developed rather than the countryside.”

It was also pointed out that the area outside the current village boundary was key habitat for protected bats.

Villagers who found bats or species such as newts on their property were also encouraged to register it with the Gloucestershire Centre for Environmental Records.

One of those attending the meeting, who said he was a chartered town planner who works for another authority, said the claims about the type of housing and facilities should not be taken at face value.

He said: “He said: “Outline planning permission establishes the land is suitable for 125 homes.

“There is no obligation on a developer – none of it is guaranteed.”

Concern was also expressed about the ability of local watercourses to cope with the extra run-off of water and it was claimed it could cause flooding as far away as Blaisdon.

Those attending the meeting were encouraged to write with their concerns to the Forest Council and a list of ‘planning reasons’ to include in letters was provided.

•In a story in last week’s Review about the proposal it was claimed there was a three-week wait for a doctor’s appointment at Mitcheldean Surgery. A spokesperson for the surgery has asked us to point out that all urgent cases are seen on the same day and the wait for routine appointments is eight days.