RESIDENTS angered by plans to build new houses in Banwell have handed a petition to the parish council. More than 30 villagers crammed into a planning meeting this week to raise their objections to proposals to build small industrial units and seven new

RESIDENTS angered by plans to build new houses in Banwell have handed a petition to the parish council.More than 30 villagers crammed into a planning meeting this week to raise their objections to proposals to build small industrial units and seven new houses with garages on Wolvershill Road.The plan, submitted to North Somerset Council be developer NT Homes, would include a mixture of three, four and five bedroom dwellings.Harry Woodards, who lives in The Paddock, opposite the planned site, said: "I had a quick walk around Wolvershill Park and collected 50 signatures from residents who were against this development."As you can see from the number of people here, villagers are not happy with the situation. Five-bedroom houses are not for first-time buyers."Residents said the industrial units were included as a 'smokescreen' for the developer which could claim the new buildings would be sustainable, enabling people to live and work in the same area. However, this claim was rejected by Noam Peretz, acting on behalf of the developer, who said the local authority had asked for the garage-sized units to be included in the plans.Councillors voted unanimously to oppose the proposals.Chairman David Elsey confirmed the parish council would be objecting to the proposals on the grounds of loss of privacy, lack of drainage, overdevelopment, noise pollution, traffic problems and the effect upon the environment. Concerns were also raised about the loss of trees around the site.District councillor Tim Marter, whose ward includes Banwell, sought to reassure residents by informing them that any decision will go before the authority's south area committee.