Locals have hit back at controversial plans to build an eco-village outside of Abergavenny, with one prominent protestor branding the proposals as a ‘Teletubby town.’

The opposition centres on a planning application to build 32 aesthetically futuristic ‘eco homes’, complete with lawn roofing and solar panels, on land next to St.Teilo’s Church in Llantilio Pertholey, near Abergavenny.

One campaigner, Sean Carlsen, helped set up the group Save Our Rural Environment (SORE) to try and stop the controversial proposals from going ahead. ??“We are against this because it would ruin a beautiful rural hamlet, and would not fit within the local character. It would be right next to a popular and grade-I listed church.

“There is a place for eco-homes—we are certainly not against them—but this is a bizarre design that some locals have likened to a Tellytubby town.

“I don’t know one local person who is in favour. It’s a monstrosity,” said Mr Carlsen.

The application requires two planning applications as 14 of the homes would sit within Monmouthshire’s authority, and 18 within the Brecon Beacons National Park, with application documents lauding the area’s ‘great potential’.

Campaigners, however, say the plans would wreck wildlife and besmirch the ‘natural beauty’ of the area. Its proximity to a grade-I listed church serves as the most contentious issue.

The issue comes as Monmouthshire struggles to deal with a housing shortage of hundreds per year, and some of the highest average house prices in Wales, an issue which Mr Carlsen said he sympathised with. ??“It is certainly true that we need new housing, and we are certainly not NIMBYs, or against that,” he said, “but there needs to be consideration.??“This development, combined with nearby Willow Court, would mean another 500 children needing school places, whilst schools, doctors’ surgeries, and dentists are already full to capacity.”

Proposals also suggest widening Hereford Road, and adding new footpaths on each side—another issue which members of SORE object to. ??Mr Carlsen added that the range of objectors stretches from locals, and the Llantilio Pertholey Community Council, all the way to Network Rail—“I don’t know one person in favour,” he said.

Another campaigner, Nicola Mainwaring, called the proposals ‘monstrous’, before telling the Chronicle that increased traffic and demands on local infrastructure would be ‘unworkable’.

Developers claim their proposals to been designed to meld with the local character and the natural environment, whilst considerations have been made regarding wildlife and the natural habitat.

A statement from the applicant said the proposed homes have been "specifically designed to correspond with the local rural character and the natural environment."

The plans will also help meet demand for housing, in particular affordable homes, it says.

Mitigation strategies to protect wildlife and vulnerable habitats have been put forward, the application says.

The controversial design has even prompted MCC’s own biodiversity officer to oppose the plans. Stacey Delbridge said that a group of objectors were planning to issue a detailed document outlining their concerns.