DOWNPOURS couldn't dampen the spirts of a Cheltenham community walking to save their local farmland yesterday.
Save the Countryside campaigners braved the rain in protest against plans to build thousands of homes on 1,000 acres of nearby fields.
Waving cards that said "no to development here", around 100 protestors, including children and dogs, completed a three-mile walk to stamp their intent to fight the plans.
As the Echo previously reported, developers are expected to table plans to build 4,500 homes on green belt land between Swindon Village and Elmstone Hardwicke.
A consortium made up of Bloor Homes and Persimmon Homes had tried to build on the land in 2009 but were delayed following opposition from councillors.
But the land has since been earmarked by both Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Borough Councils as a housing site.
Now, activists are campaigning for the sixth successive year to have the proposals scrapped.
Helen Wells, chairwoman for Save the Countryside, said that residents should prepare for "seductive arguments" from planners looking to sway public vote.
She said: "The town certainly needs new housing and we have identified several areas where development is needed.
"But it's cheaper for the developer to build on a greenfield site like this one.
"Swindon Village is lucky to have a nice atmosphere but it will never be the same again if we don't fight this."
Swindon Village Society chairman Barry Simon, 67, said: "People have a real attachment to this piece of land which has been farmed by the village for at least a thousand years.
"If the plans are successful, it will mean that we will no longer be part of the countryside.
"That would be a terrible thing because there is enough brownfield land to build houses on for the next 20 years."
Resident Helen Harris, 72, was also concerned. She added: "Traffic is already terrible in the area and I think more homes will attract more problems for parking."
Plans could be submitted by mid-August, although a decision would be unlikely to be made until mid-2014.
