Anger at estate plan for village

9:15am Sunday 16th September 2007

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By Chris Wood »

RESIDENTS are campaigning against a proposed development which they say would "completely change the way of life" in Llanwern.

At the moment, there are less than 100 houses in the village but developer Gallagher Estates wants to build 1,000 homes on a 90-acre site at Cots Hill, overlooking the area.

Members of an action group opposing the plan intend to put up placards in gardens and hold demonstrations.

Independent ward councillor Carole Atwell has joined the campaign.

"The villagers are very concerned and have set up an action group as this development on a green field site will transform their little village into a big estate and completely change the way of life," she said.

"To meet the housing requirements for the area, I hoped the local council would just develop a number of small villages into slightly bigger ones, not put all the new houses in one village.

"We are doing well in using brownfield sites, this should be pursued before greenfield land."

Various organisations have also joined the cause such as Friends of the Earth and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales which has suggested a new development could exacerbate flooding problems.

Resident Simon Brook said: "The countryside is being pushed further and further away in Newport and if this development goes ahead there will be no clear boundary between the countryside and town.

"This doesn't just degrade the immediate area but that beyond as well, making it hard to farm.

It doesn't register in planners' minds, but people in Newport would miss out."

The action group is planning to push for a flood risk assessment for the site.

A spokesman for Gallagher Estates said plans will go before Newport City Council within the next two months.

If the Gallagher scheme gets the go-ahead, it will include 1,000 homes, a new 420-place primary school, a village centre including shops and workplaces and a community meeting place.

Gallagher's managing director David Carden told the Argus last year he wanted to create a small modern community of which local people could be proud.