A
number of residents spoke, raising the following
concerns:
- Suggesting that new housing being weighted heavily to Severnside
conflicts with the aspiration to retain Monmouthshire’s green
spaces, especially given the Gwent levels
- Arguing that Magor will be seen as part of an urban corridor
between Newport and Chepstow, threatening its rural status, and
noting the existing shortage of green spaces for
residents
- Suggesting that there be a more even spread of houses between
Monmouth and Abergavenny
- Questioning whether it is sustainable for Severnside to have 21%
of the county’s population, with 1 out of 3 new homes set to
be built there
- Stressing the deficit of open space in Magor and Undy, and that
it has been overdeveloped for years, with untreated water already
being allowed to flow into the SSSI and some homes already being
victims of flooding
- Suggesting that being ‘protection-led’ rather than
‘development-led’ would be more in keeping with an
environmentally focussed RLDP
- Noting the shortage of amenity areas around Langley Close, with
a 2008 report already highlighting a deficiency of 14.4 acres of
outdoor provision at that time
- Stressing the importance of retaining farmland and supporting
communities e.g. the family who would be evicted from farming at
Langley Close, and questioning putting development before the
health of a community
- Highlighting that a previous council report stated that no
development would take place on open land near or close to a
motorway, yet this plan proposes to do so
- Stressing the importance of preserving the Gwent Levels and its
unique landscape, expressing concern for wildlife, and arguing that
the council’s own Green Strategy is being ignored,
particularly relating to the Green Infrastructure potential at
Magor and Undy
- Noting that this plan contravenes Future Wales Policy 9,
relating to biodiversity
- Arguing that previous Rockfield farm and Vinegar Hill
developments were predicated on the relief road and Magor-Undy
bypass going ahead, but were allowed to proceed and expand, and
suggesting that there has not been enough collaboration with
Newport Council over the impact of their developments given the
joint implications for thousands more vehicles needing to access
the M4 at Junction 23A
- Suggesting that there is not sufficient evidence to state that
higher levels of growth will not affect the road network, and that
building thousands of homes without the necessary infrastructure
being in place first is not responsible
- Asking for Air and Noise Pollution Assessments for Magor and
Undy, given that there is already an air quality problem from the
M4 and B4245 traffic jams
- Reiterating infrastructure concerns, particularly regarding
insufficient healthcare, shopping and leisure provisions in
Caldicot, with residents from the new developments likely to travel
elsewhere, and highlighting again the strain on the road network
and lack of decent public transport
- Expressing concerns about flooding being exacerbated by further
runoff from more developments, and the impact on air quality and
biodiversity
- Proposing that social housing be built where it is needed,
rather than concentrated in one place
·
Expressing opposition to Monmouth being allocated a
230% housing increase, particularly compared to other sites only
increasing in single digits, and concern for the implications for
Monmouth in terms of poor public transport services, oversubscribed
doctors and schools, and the challenge of having more sewage to
treat given the existing phosphates issue in the Wye