TOURISM to a Cotswold town could be threatened if a development goes ahead according to people living nearby.

Residents say they are worried that the very beauty that attracts visitors to Chipping Campden is under attack by too much house building.

Dozens of them have signed a petition to say that a plan to build 40 homes in a greenfield site will affect the Cotswolds's designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

The development on land at Aston Road would provide a mix of homes of one and a half and two storeys and the application talks about the potential for a doctor's surgery to be added to the site at a later date.

The plan has been put forward after a previous application to build 90 homes on the same land was rejected.

Planners say the scheme now encroaches less into open countryside, is not a major development for the size of the town and would not have such a visual impact on the landscape.

One resident Liz Williams said: "The town brings a lot of money into the Cotswolds as a tourist destination.

"Everything is changing.

"If they start to chip into the area of outstanding natural beauty there's all sorts of things it affects. We have to grow organically not in big chunks.

"We feel this is a major development in Chipping Campden."

Mrs Williams said residents were concerned about the loss of high quality arable farmland and the affect on breeding skylarks, which are protected by law whilst nesting.

However, a survey by All Ecology said the loss of the land for the skylarks was only significant locally and not on a regional or national basis.

The report suggested create skylark posts in adjacent fields to encourage the skylarks to nest elsewhere.

Residents also say the extra homes will bring more traffic to the town.

The application will be discussed at a meeting of Cotswold District Council tomorrow.