Plans to build 59 homes in Wrington will now be decided by a planning inspector – but villagers are warning the scheme is dangerous and unsustainable.

Developer Redcliffe Homes wants to build the homes off Cox’s Green, and the application will be determined by a planning inspector at an appeal after North Somerset Council took too long to make a decision.

Redcliffe says the development will be sustainable and sensitive to the village’s needs should it be built, but the Wrington Village Alliance – which formed last year in response to the plans – claims the estate would cause a number of problems.

A spokesman for the alliance said: “The proposed development is outside the settlement boundary and is on grade two agricultural land.

“It is also not the barren wasteland the developer describes, it is a site that is relatively unspoilt and home to a rich collection of wildlife.”

In its design and access statement, Redcliffe said the development would be ‘high’ quality and would respect the area’s physical constraints.

It said: “The application is for a sensitively-designed residential development that will provide a new sustainable development. It will use the local character and assets of the site to develop a scheme with its own sense of place, creating a high-quality development that is accessible to the amenities of Wrington.”

However, campaigners say the roads surrounding the site would struggle to cope with an increased number of cars – and added the risk of the site flooding would be significant if it is developed.

For more details about the alliance, contact Sally Bartlett on 07785 039741 or email wrington.village.alliance@gmail.com