CLOSE to 100 people packed the Guildhall on Monday night to voice opposition to the planned greenfield development at Britford Lane, East Harnham.

Salisbury City Council described the plans to build 100 homes near to the floodplain as "catastrophic" and unanimously agreed to strongly object.

Yet the authority — technically a parish council — has no planning power so can only lodge opposition to developments, with the ultimate decision made by Wiltshire Council.

Such was the hostility to the proposal residents, who crammed the Guildhall, were forced to stand or sit on the floor to listen to proceedings with councillors expressing that it was the busiest they had ever seen a council meeting.

Jocelyn Sage from the group Save the Meadows stated that residents opposed the development on grounds of the site being greenfield, flooding, traffic management, aesthetics and environmental issues.

She said: "The site is in the City of Salisbury Conservation Area. It forms part of the water meadows setting of Salisbury and Britford.

"It is an arcadian landscape with grazing cows – providing a stunning setting for the approach to the city from the south and appreciated by residents and visitors alike.

"It is not a brownfield site. It is grazed; it has a prominent line of protected trees dissecting the site and an abundance of wildlife.

"This green ‘lung’, for want of a better description, is what makes Salisbury unique. And from a personal perspective the fact that my children can live in a city and still be aware of the link between farming and food production is something I value immensely – in a day and age where most children have little idea where their food comes from.

"Finally I would like to remind the Committee that a planning application was submitted in 1989 for a hotel and housing development on the same fields.

"Salisbury District Council refused the application. As far as I can establish, the refusal reasons were a concern over the traffic that would be generated and because of the adverse impact on the landscape setting of the city and views to the cathedral – reasons as valid today as then."

Councillors agreed with residents and approved to fight Wiltshire Council in order to save Britford Lane from development.

Cllr Michael Osment said: “There’s nowhere sacred. With the pressure being put on there and at Old Sarum airfield, if we aren’t careful we will lose all that we hold dear in this city.”

Cllr Michael Pope added that it was a "completely unacceptable" for the council to be considering a development so close to the river.

"It is important that the residents voices are heard," said Cllr Penny Brown. "We need more housing in the city but it has to be in the right place."

The online Facebook group set-up by Save the Meadows has over 1,000 likes in support and Wiltshire Council is currently running a consultation on the proposal which can be found on the website.