RESIDENTS of Grosmont have carried out a survey that questions the local authority's future development plans for the village.

Monmouthshire County Council has singled out as part of the Local Development Plan to allocate a housing development of 15 dwellings on a meadow of 'high landscape value' adjoining the village conservation area with a split of 60 percent affordable housing and 40 percent selling at market prices.

Residents believe that the village cannot sustain this kind of development, and that the proposed site would alter the village landscape irrevocably.

The villagers set about forming a local pressure group Action for Sustainable Grosmont, fearing that the authority's plans would produce a 'ghost village' of empty luxury homes.

The group point out that Grosmont, with a population of around 400, has already doubled in size since the 1980s. In the last ten years alone 22 new houses have been built and the local community emphasised that none of these homes was affordable to families already living in the village.

The ancient village, with its historic castle and church, is a popular tourist destination. The Sunday Times recently named it as one of Britain's best villages in which to live.

The pressure group felt it important to find out whether there really is a housing need in the village and commissioned a survey of all households.

A spokesman for ASG said, "Almost half of the village responded by giving their feedback.

The survey found that only seven local people thought that they or their families might be in need of village housing in the next five years.

"The Local Development Plan classifies Grosmont as a 'Major Village' based on its services, so the village survey set out to find out what residents thought of the village amenities.

"Transport, employment, facilities for young people and infrastructure were all judged by the huge majority of respondents as 'in need of major improvement'. Only the shop and the pub were judged 'satisfactory'.

"Respondents pointed out that recent building has left the village overstretched, with an overloaded sewerage system, power cuts and car parking problems. A recent near fatal accident involving a construction vehicle and an elderly resident highlighted to many the dangers of the proposed increased traffic."

In the survey the residents were asked about their views on any further development in the village?

An earlier petition submitted to the authority in February, 143 people opposed the proposed housing development off Poorscript Lane.

The new survey found that an overwhelming 85 percent of respondents thought that there should be no new development of open market housing at all.

There was more widespread support for a small number of affordable houses; 46 percent of respondents would support fewer than five units of affordable housing, although a development of more than 10 would be opposed by 93 percent of the village.

The survey revealed that employment was a particular concern, as respondents pointed out that there were almost no local jobs, with many of them having to make the 100 mile round trip to Cardiff daily.

The survey also found that residents drive an average of 250 miles a week, highlighting the fact there is no public transport in Grosmont and that the village is more remote from a town than any village within Monmouthshire.

The ASG spokesman added: "Our survey clearly demonstrates that the proposals in the draft LDP for Grosmont not only bear no relation to local demand but also misrepresent the ability of the village to support new development in a sustainable way, beyond smaller developments of affordable housing or infill sites."

Grosmont Community Council has endorsed the findings of the pressure group's survey and along with many individual villagers have indicated that many local residents will be making further representations at the authority's full debate on the issue on Friday, July 1.