Children's protest to protect former golf course

Schoolchildren have protested against plans to build 160 homes at a former golf course.

The group, who call themselves the Golf Course Freedom Fighters, want the 44-acre site in Bradford-on-Avon to be taken off the Wiltshire Council's "reserve" for housing.

Ruben, who started the protest alongside his friends, said the redevelopment of the site would mean "all the nature and diversity will be gone".

Developers Cala Homes is "currently undertaking technical surveys" and have urged residents not to enter the site.

"For my whole life I've been playing on the golf course, building dens and I've loved it.

"I understand that we have got to build houses but this space in Covid was such a big life-saver for people's mental health and also underneath there is a dump and the amount of toxic things under there could hurt someone," Ruben added.

The golf course, running alongside the River Avon, closed in 2007.

Residents want the "ecologically rich" land to be turned into a nature reserve.

In a Bradford on Avon Town Council meeting on 9 July councillors said that Cala Homes was "much more progressed on plans" than previously known.

The council has already run a petition against proposals to redevelop the area.

Councillors have been told the whole site will be fenced off in the next couple of weeks, with a pre-planning outline expected to be submitted next month.

A full planning application is expected early next year for 160 homes with a country park on the eastern end.

The 100 school-aged children held a protest holding placards that read 'kids need nature' and 'keep the golf course wild' on Sunday.

One boy said he uses the land to play with friends and walk his dog.

He said: "It would be very bad if it was turned to housing... it's good for nature and foxes."

Another boy said it was "great for dens" and he would be "really sad if it went" as it was the "only big area to play around there".

Kelly Souter, whose child was at the protest, said the site where her children play was "massively important".

She said there were "other key sites" that could be used for housing instead.

"There is so much wildlife, so much space," she said.

"Bradford Town Council took this off their reserve list so Wiltshire needs to as well because of the problems with it - it's a giant tip underneath the surface," she added.

Charlie Caffyn, who lives locally, said the town "needs to find 80 more homes" before 2035 but "the last application was for 200 homes".

He added: "We're expecting the new one to be for 150 - 200 homes so over double what we need.

"We need houses in Bradford and it needs to be social housing but there must be better sites than this."

Councillor Alison Potter, the council's chair of development, said that nine people had come forward to propose alternative sites.

"We want this site off the list," she said. "We don't agree it is suitable for development.

"I would be surprised if they are going to be social or affordable, whatever that means, for local people that need housing," she added.

Wiltshire councillor Nick Botterill said the site "would only be released if other development plan allocations are delayed or the windfall contribution from smaller sites fails to materialise". He added the council is "required to maintain housing land supply requirements set by national policy".

He said the reserve sites "can only be released and brought forward if they meet the circumstances and conditions" and there was "currently no live planning application on the site".

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Cala Homes said they were "currently undertaking technical surveys to understand the suitability of developing this private land" and, as part of the process, had introduced machinery onto the site.

"There is now heavy machinery on site and to ensure everyone’s safety we urge members of the public not to trespass as doing so is dangerous," a Cala Homes spokesperson added.

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