Residents Protecting Peasedown, the group set up to fight unsustainable extra housing in the village, has this week accused social housing landlord, Curo, of “shameful disregard” for residents and the environment, labelling its plans for 89 homes at Greenlands Road, the controversial site which was won at appeal by a previous developer, as “monstrous.”

So concerned are they by Curo’s plans to develop the steeply sloping site, that they have commissioned independent architects to produce scale drawings based on Curo’s plans, which could see concrete terraces built with retaining walls to level out the green field, which overlooks the Cam Valley. The residents argue houses could be towering up to twelve metres above the existing ground level.

The site has seen opposition from the village since it was first proposed, with Peasedown St John’s B&NES Councillors and the Parish Council opposed to it and more than 950 villagers signing a petition against the application back in 2013.

Curo is now seeking reserved matters permission after the previous developer, Edward Ware Homes, who had outline planning permission, sold the site to the organisation last year. Curo held a packed public exhibition last December, which some residents say they feel misled by – as the retaining walls and terraces were not mentioned.

Residents are not only concerned about the scheme’s effect on the landscape, but are also worried about the impact that the build may have on neighbouring homes. The 100-year-old houses at Hillside View, which lie metres from the retaining wall that Curo wants to build, are built on clay and do not have concrete footings, leaving some locals concerned about the stability of their homes, should the earthworks go ahead. They have also expressed concerns about access points and the displacement of cars in an already congested area of the village.

Residents Protecting Peasedown spokeswoman, Petra Schofield, has said this week: “We hoped that Curo, as an ethical, not-for-profit business, with a clearly expressed social mission and set of values, would take seriously our concerns about this proposed development. But so far, all it has shown is a shameful disregard for both residents and the environment. These monstrous plans suggest that Curo’s ethical claims are meaningless. If it really wants to make a positive contribution in Peasedown, Curo should listen to the hundreds of local people who oppose this new estate and walk away from the scheme entirely.”

Gerraint Oakley, Managing Director of Curo Homes told The Journal this week: “We thank the local community in Peasedown St John for all the feedback submitted, both to us directly and via the B&NES website. This is exactly the purpose that the public consultation period is designed to fulfil; to enable us to respond to Local Authority Policy as well as residents’ views and allow us to review the scheme accordingly.

“Due to the sloping nature of the site at Hawthorn Rise, some retaining structures are inevitable. Following earlier feedback from the community, we agreed to preserve as much of the Hawthorn hedge on the site as possible; the resulting new road layout has made further structures necessary. This illustrates the difficulty of taking numerous, varied views into account and producing a design that addresses them all – but we’ll continue to try.

“We know we won’t be able to change the minds of people who are opposed to building on this site in any form. However, this land is designated for housing, and needs to be developed to create much-needed homes. As a not-for-profit local housing provider, we’re working hard to maintain a constructive dialogue and listen to what’s being said; our purpose is to create new homes and allow people to stay in their local community. We’ll continue our discussions with local ward councillors and the B&NES planning team to achieve this.

“Our commitment now is to consider all the feedback received and to respond. The next stage is for us to look at the commentary as a whole and, as far as technically possible, make adjustments to our planning proposal to meet the views we’ve received.”

A decision on this application by B&NES Council’s Development Control Committee is expected around the beginning of May.