MP co-ordinates support for plans to ‘Build Up Not Out’ & M5 J21a, but opposes Garden Villages

Weston’s MP John Penrose has intervened in the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP), with support from a cross-party group of local Councillors representing rural villages.

In a letter submitted to the JSP, John welcomes the commitment to ‘Build Up Not Out’ in central Weston, and for a Banwell Bypass, but opposes proposals for 2 new towns – which he says are misleadingly being called ‘Garden Villages’ –  near Churchill and Langford, points out that proposals to solve the traffic jams at M5 J21 with a new ‘Junction 21a’ won’t work and need to be improved, and that proposals to handle Bristol Airport traffic are more expensive and less green than better alternatives instead.

John Penrose said: “These plans will be used as the framework to guide housing, employment and infrastructure for the next 18 years. They will define how our homes and neighbourhoods look and feel, for better or worse, for years to come. There are plenty of good ideas that we should all support, but a couple of real stinkers too. We need to get this right.”

Notes To Editors:

All three pages of the letter can be found here.