RESIDENTS are drawing up battle lines against developers who want to build 100 new homes in Coleford.

They are accusing developers of cutting corners and acting in a covert manner in order to get the homes on a field known as Angel Farm approved.

The application from Bloor Homes follows several from Persimmon Homes. These were refused at first due to fears over flooding, but subsequently approved on appeal.

Coleford Town Council held a meeting to discuss the latest application by Bloor Homes which proposes to change the layout of 90 of the homes off Cinder Hill.

Town clerk Annie Lappington said noise from the GlaxoSmithKline factory would be an issue for homes in the north-east corner of the site.

"The houses in the previous application were turned away from the factory and were to have triple glazing," she said.

"Now the homes have turned 90 degrees so noise will again be an issue."

She added: "If these plans fail, it doesn't mean that they will go back to the Persimmon plans, they may instead just go to appeal."

Attention was also drawn to a buffer zone between the new houses and existing homes, which had apparently been reduced.

Crime prevention officer Bob Lloyd said the path and cycleway leading to and from the site could become a breeding ground for anti-social behaviour.

Esther Duggan, from the Angel Farm Action Committee, said the land was incorrectly called a green field site because it had previously been an industrial area. She said: "We're not against the development as a whole because we need housing. The land could be contaminated – they've done three lots of drilling but nothing has come out in public."

Group member Walt Williams, said: "We're very sad that each developer is trying to cut corners."