CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 470 homes at a historic airfield have been met with strong opposition.

The proposals to transform Old Sarum airfield into a housing estate and visitor attraction were submitted on June 19.

At least 35 letters of objection have been posted on the council’s planning website so far.

Opponents claim the scheme will eventually result in flying at the airfield being stopped.

They also say there has not been enough public consultation and the plans will encroach on green belt land, destroy scenic views, increase traffic and worsen flooding.

Writing to the council objector Ian Berry said: “This grotesque application is the very encapsulation of green-eyed greed.

“The developer is patently seeking to trade the wellbeing of existing Wiltshire residents for their own short-sighted financial reward.”

He said the housing would overwhelm the landscape and “decimate the peaceful tranquility” of the area.

He added: “Furthermore, the application is an insult to the British servicemen who used the airfield to protect this great land from invasion."

“How ironic that this developer wishes now to ruin the very lands which our ancestors died to protect.”

Dee Smith also wrote to the council with objections. She said she was “totally disgusted” and outraged by the plans, adding that the "eyesore" development would “totally undermine” the historic value of the First World War airfield.

“This plan is totally down to the greed of the landowner and has nothing to do with preserving our heritage,” she said.

The applicant, Grenville Hodge, responded to accusations of greed saying: "If that was the case we would have sold the airfield years ago and not spent hundreds of thousands of pounds keeping it open over the last 20 years.

"We certainly won't make as much money this way as we would if we had sold it to a major developer."

The consultation ends on July 30. To view the plans, visit planning.wiltshire.gov.uk and search for 15/04004/OUT.