THE Rockfield Road development in Mon-mouth is like 'a cancerous growth, spilling into the countryside', according to a Mon-mouthshire county councillor speaking last week.

Cllr Ruth Edwards, the Llantilio Crossenny member appealed to the county council's cabinet not to allow more houses to be built in this area. She said: "Coming down from Lydart in the car at night, the development appears like a cancerous growth, and this latest scheme is taking good agricultural land.

"Yet people living in the villages who ask for three to five houses are having planning permission turned down."

She warned: "The people in Monmouth will be very vocal against this." She also voiced her concern about the number of children from that area being bused to Cross Ash Primary School.

The cabinet was told by George Ashworth, head of planning that Phil Grainger, the planning inspector who conducted the Unitary Development Plan public inquiry had conceded that only another 100 houses should be allocated for Rockfield Road, instead of the 170 which had originally been proposed.

He said: "We know there will be traffic problems which will exacerbate those which already exist."

One of the local members, Cllr Alan Wintle, com-plained that the site had the potential to flood, and he queried the access road. He added: "There is insufficient parking in the town without adding extra houses."

He said Monmouth needs employment so people do not need to use their cars to travel to work.

Cllr Liz Hacket Pain said the decision by the inspector to include the Rockfield Road site in the UDP housing target goes against all the local members' wishes as well as local opinion.

Another cabinet member, Cllr Peter Fox said he had grave concerns about educational facilities and pointed out that 100 new houses equates to another 28 children in that area.

He said: "There are very strong grounds to oppose that site because you can't stop anyone coming out of catchment unless the school is full, so children might never get a place in their nearest school."

Another local member, Councillor Susan White said the inspector had taken no notice of local opinion.

Original plans for the Rockfield Road development was to construct 500 houses, a school and a community centre.

This was later increased to 602 after plans to build a new primary school were dropped and these have now been built.

In February 2000 the then mayor of Monmouth the late Councillor Jeff Smith warned that if the people of the town didn't voice their opinions against the development, that it could in time, expand to have as many as 1,500 homes on it - and ruin the character of the town.

Monmouth's mayor Cllr Sue Chivers said: "We didn't want this type of development in the first place. What we needed, and still do, is low cost starter homes for local people to stay in the area. We don't want any more executive housing.

"I agree with Cllr Edwards' comments about the development being like a blot on the landscape."