It could be worse for the local residents.
I used to be coach at a gymnastics Club that used the sporting facilities of the local college (now University). Also usig the facilities were a couple of football clubs, an archery club, a hockey club and several other amateur clubs (including a couple of disabled sport ones). The college decided they no longer wanted the site, and entered into discussions with a property development company, without letting anyone else know and also went into discussion with the local council about developing the site - all under the cloak of a non-disclosure agreement.
First thing all the Clubs, and local residents, knew was when a solicitors letter arrived giving us 2 all weeks notice to quit - the same day a planning application for loads of houses was submitted.
Now the locals face traffic chaos at rush hours, the local schools are all over-subscribed, locals cannot get appointments for the local GPs, and, like all such developments, there are more cars than parking places, meaning cars parked on paverments and reducing road width.
<edit> prior to this happening it was regarded as being on the edge of the develoiped area, and could not be regarded as "infill".
Nowadays, with the changes to planning law that came-in in September it is much easier to get planning permission, especially on appeal. According to one of my coaches, who is also a planning officer, "green belt /AONB is no longer safe from development- you need also be a SSI or National Park", which is one of the reasons why moves have started to have the Chilterns Hills declared a National Park.