PROTESTERS today pledged to fight tooth and nail to keep their villages as a rural community and stop them being turned into a new town.Opposition to proposals to treble the size of the twin Trimley villages is growing by the day with the latest move being the creation of a protest group called STAG – Save Trimley Against Growth.

PROTESTERS today pledged to fight tooth and nail to keep their villages as a rural community and stop them being turned into a new town.

Opposition to proposals to treble the size of the twin Trimley villages is growing by the day with the latest move being the creation of a protest group called STAG – Save Trimley Against Growth.

Posters opposing the development – labelled by some as "the rape of the Trimleys" – are in windows all over the villages, and hundreds of leaflets have been delivered to homes, urging them to get involved in the campaign.

Few people have so far come forward in support of the project, submitted by landowners Trinity College, Cambridge, although parish councillors are concerned about the "silent majority" who have not yet voiced an opinion.

Some councillors have also expressed concern about the anonymity of STAG – and called for its organisers to reveal themselves.

The group is holding its own public meeting on September 19 at the Welcome Hall, High Road, Trimley St Mary, and wants anyone willing to help with the running of the group to go along.

It says the Trinity College proposals will not enhance the villages or residents' lives in any way and is totally unwanted, and is urging people to write to the parish council and signs its petition.

"The motivation for landowners to systematically destroy what is considered to be an area of outstanding natural beauty is simple – economics," said STAG.

"The current value of the agricultural land is approximately £3,000 per acre. If planning permission could successfully be obtained, the value would increase overnight to hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"It is clear therefore that building over 3,000 flats and houses is not a charitable, philanthropic humanitarian gesture to the local community."

The group fears property prices would slump, crime and vandalism increase as a result of urbanisation, plus more pressure on the emergency services, more air and noise pollution, health services locally not able to cope, and traffic increase.

The plans are described as a vision for the Trimleys and envisage using all the fields and open space between the A14 and Felixstowe-Ipswich railway line for development, creating greens and village centres, industrial area and homes.

Tim Collins, partner with Bidwells, agents for Trinity College, has said the plans are not final or detailed yet – they are a vision of how the villages could be developed in a comprehensive way, to avoid piecemeal building and provide a development with community facilities.

He wants to hear which pieces people like or dislike, concerns, or ideas for changes to the proposals.

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