PROTESTERS claim plans to build 1,200 homes on green belt land in Edwalton are based on "unsustainable fantasy".

Vivian Payne, speaking for Rushcliffe Residents' Association, told a public inquiry yesterday that local people would have to live with rat-running, congestion and increased noise and emissions.

Mr Payne, a former director of planning and transportation at Notts County Council, told the Sharphill inquiry: "To allow a development which would more than double the population of Edwalton would destroy its character completely.

"Existing bus services would be subjected to more delays as the increased traffic from the development competed for the congested road space, and this will be very evident at the three bridge crossings: Clifton, Trent and Lady Bay."

He said Rushcliffe Borough Council had previously recorded traffic concerns in West Bridgford and Edwalton, along with levels of noise pollution and emissions.

"The stark reality is that it is the residents and Rushcliffe Borough Council who would have to live with the consequences of allowing the development, which is based on unsustainable fantasy."

Chartered landscape architect Donald Munro told planning inspector John Gray that the development would have a detrimental effect on the green belt and a negative impact on Sharphill Wood, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.

It would also affect nearby "green corridors" and a protected species known to inhabit the area, he said.

"I believe there is over-riding landscape, visual and ecological reasons for refusing the application for development," he added.

"This development would result in unacceptable urban encroachment into the countryside

"The loss of open countryside will have a highly significant and negative impact that I believe cannot be mitigated against."

The inquiry at West Bridgford Community Hall, is into an appeal by David Wilson Homes and Mr Brian Wells against Rushcliffe Borough Council's refusal of plans on July 23, 2008. It is expected to finish next week.

The scheme includes a relocation site for South Nottingham College, a business centre, offices, a school, shops, community facilities, a 35-hectare park and sports facilities.

jon.robinson@ nottinghameveningpost.co.uk