Community Leaders in Peasedown St John have welcomed changes to one of the village's most controversial housing developments.

Curo, a registered provider of social housing and homes developer, had received permission from B&NES Council to build 89 homes in Greenlands Road. Despite public opposition to the plans and a petition of more than 1,000 names submitted to the Local Authority, planning permission was eventually granted on appeal.

And now, thanks to lobbying from Peasedown's local councillors, major changes have been made to the plans.

Local Councillor Sarah Bevan (Independent, Peasedown) said: "We're pleased that huge changes have been made to Curo's house building plans in Peasedown St John. It shows they've listened to the concerns of local residents and have been willing to modify their proposals.

Since planning permission was granted some years ago Cllr Walker and I have kept in regular contact with the organisation's directors, asking for updates and a re-evaluation of just how many houses they would build."

The new, revised scheme now being put forward by Curo for Greenlands Road, Peasedown St John, includes:

• A reduction in the number of homes from 89 to 51
• A 56% increase in open space within the development
• An increase in green buffer between Hillside View properties and the new builds' back gardens from 7m to 18m distance
• A new central play area
• A reduction in the number of driveways egressing on to Greenlands Road
• Improvements to address the gradient of the site with split level homes
• Curo maintaining the vegetation and landscaping after completion of the development

Cllr Karen Walker (Independent, Peasedown St John), who chair's B&NES Council's Environment Committee, said: "Cllr Bevan and I are not opposed to new housing in Peasedown St John, but we always had concerns with new homes being built in Greenlands Road. The site isn't suitable for such a large number of new properties in an already highly populated and dense part of the village. We're pleased therefore that Curo has decided to radically reduce the number of new builds from 89 to 51, a 45% reduction.

We're also pleased that Curo has made a commitment to look after all the vegetation and public open spaces after all the homes have been built."

Curo will now submit a revised application to B&NES Council in the Autumn with a decision expected in the Summer of next year.

Gavin Heathcote, Chairman of the Peasedown Community Trust, also welcomed the amendments to the plans. He said:

"I'm pleased that Curo has listened to the representations sent in by local residents. Their previous plans just didn't work and would have placed a strain on the already creaking country roads around the outskirts of the village.

I'm particularly pleased to see a 56% increase in the amount of open space in the development. The Peasedown Community Trust's village-wide Environment Survey last year showed that vast numbers of people want to see more open spaces created where children can play and families can spend time during the warmer months."

Any residents that want to keep up-to-date with Curo's house building plans in Peasedown St John can be added to Karen and Sarah's mailing list by sending an email to [email protected]