They include a neighbourhood centre, football pitches and allotments
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Developers have been granted planning permission by South Gloucestershire Council to build hundreds of homes in a rapidly expanding village.
They will build 525 homes, a neighbourhood centre, football pitches and allotments, but there are concerns over a lack of public services.
The new housing estate will be called Pennymeads, and will be built on farmland south of the village.
The plans were approved by councillors on the strategic sites delivery committee on Thursday, June 26, with six votes in favour and three votes against.
Charlotte Robinson, representing the applicants CEG, said: “This application brings forward a site which has been identified by the council to be suitable, appropriate and deliverable for residential development.
“The proposal would deliver new homes, including 35 per cent affordable, housing suitable for older people, and five per cent of plots for self and custom build.
“There would be an opportunity for small businesses to be established or grow at the local centre. Firms and jobs can be kept in Charfield.
“Extensive green infrastructure is proposed, including three football pitches and changing rooms. Other types of open space will be provided, such as walking routes, children’s play areas and allotments.”
Developers would put forward £2.3 million to help reopen the railway station, improve bus services and a “greenway” between Charfield and Wotton-under-Edge.
Upgrades to the nearby junction 14 of the M5 motorway are also planned. The village is growing substantially, with another huge development planned, as well as a plan to expand the primary school.
Liberal Democrat Councillor John O’Neil, representing Charfield, said: “There have been many objections, some of these are justified and a lot of them are because of the level of development we’ve had in Charfield.
“It’s quite a distressing thing. We’ve had three [major developments] in the last seven or eight years and they all come onto the Wotton Road.”
But one concern is the lack of public services in the village to match the ballooning population. While Charfield is close to the town of Wotton-under-Edge, some councillors and local residents believe the village needs its own services upgraded too.
Conservative Cllr Liz Brennan said: “If it was me living in Charfield, and I was getting all these houses, and they’ve already seen so many new houses, I would want out of this so much more. I would want a bigger shop, a guarantee that my children could go to school there, buses, and just so much more. We’re offering them the bare minimum.”