The Bradley Stoke Journal

Residents of South Gloucestershire are being urged to have their say on the future development of the district following proposals from the South West Regional Assembly (SWRA) which could result in the building of nearly 31,000 new homes by 2026.

While some of this development will be met from existing major new planned development areas at Northfield (Filton), Emersons Green East, Harry Stoke and Wallscourt Farm (Abbey Wood), nearly half of the growth required is expected to be provided from four new major new greenfield development locations, most of which would see land developed which is presently safeguarded as Green Belt.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC), which has not accepted the levels of growth and development locations proposed by the government through the SWRA, has produced a “Core Strategy” document setting out a long-term vision for South Gloucestershire until 2026. The document suggests where new housing and jobs might go; it also identifies land that the Council believes should be protected.

Details of the Core Strategy and the public consultation (which closes on 13^th June 2008) can be found on the SGC website. Paper copies of the main “Issues and Options” document may be viewed at all South Gloucestershire libraries.

SGC is holding a public event on Tuesday 13^th May 2008 (2pm to 7:30pm) at Brook Way Activity Centre in Bradley Stoke, when residents will have the chance to find out more about the proposals and talk to a member of the Council’s planning team.

With the “Battle of the Bowls” seemingly locked in stalemate, Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) last week opened up a new line of conflict, with the issuing of a press release related to a planning application for advertising signs at the new town centre. The opponents this time are not a group of elderly residents frustrated at the imposition of staggering rental increases on their bowling green, but the mighty supermarket chain Tesco (2007 profit: £2.864 billion).

Last week’s press release came the morning after the monthly Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday night, at which a planning application (PT08/0781/ADV) from Tesco had been discussed. We are told the committee voted unanimously to oppose the application on the grounds that:

• The logo shown on the proposed signs is too similar to that of South Gloucestershire Council.
• The name “The Brooks Centre” (chosen by Tesco and also shown on the proposed signs) is similar to that of the Brook Way Activity Centre, located some way from the town centre.

The press release goes on to express the Council’s displeasure that Tesco did not consult the community in choosing a name for the new town centre, with Councillor John Ashe quoted as saying that local school children had been promised a competition to gather names.

The Council’s comments follow news that Tesco has chosen to call the development “The Brooks Centre”, without consulting local people.

Research by The Journal has pinpointed a Planning Committee meeting on 16^th May 2007, attended by Tesco’s media relations consultant Dan Bramwell, as being crucial to the issues involved. The minutes of this meeting, in a section headed “Naming the New Town Centre”, are as follows:

“Mr Bramwell was keen to involve the community and sought ideas as to how this might be achieved. In discussion it was agreed that Bradley Stoke Matters should be asked to play a major role and Tesco would also prepare A5 flyers with architect’s pictures on one side and competition details on the reverse. The overall winner would have a personal prize and be invited to nominate one of the Town’s schools to receive a further award, both to be provided by Tesco, subject to their confirmation.”

Radio Bristol featured the row on Friday morning, with Councillor Robert Jones representing the Council and Dan Bramwell the views of Tesco. Councillor Jones described the chosen name as “heartless and soulless” and referred to a press release issued in December 2007 (actually it was 30^th November) in which Tesco promised to hold a competition to select the name. Mr Bramwell denied that a promise had been made (he seemed to be unaware of the content of the Tesco press release), although he acknowledged that a competition had been discussed.

Mr Bramwell also claimed that he had contacted BSTC on 17^th March 2008 to inform them that a decision had been made by Tesco and there would consequently be no competition. He also stated that the previously discussed (but not promised) competition would have been for the whole community and not just for schoolchildren (this point is confirmed by the minutes of the Council meeting). To stage a competition now would “delay the building of the town centre”, he added.

BBC Online also covered the dispute in an article whose first sentence read: “Supermarket giant Tesco is being accused of breaking promises to school pupils in a row over a new store”.

In later developments, The Journal has discovered that South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC) consultation period for the planning application closed on 15^th April. This would appear to mean that the objections raised on 23^rd April by BSTC cannot be considered by the SGC planning department. A BSTC spokesperson denied this would be the case, saying that “SGC will include our submissions in their deliberations provided they arrive before the appropriate meeting”. We’re not so sure this is the case and it was interesting to see that a Circulated Schedule Report appeared on the SGC website on 25^th April stating that “no response” has been received from BSTC and recommending that the planning application be approved. In any case, it is likely that BSTC’s objections will be deemed irrelevant, as the exact details of text and images displayed on advertising signs does not generally require specific approval. Target date for final approval is given on the SGC website as 2^nd May.

The Journal Comments:

The fact that this matter has flared into a very public spat between BSTC and Tesco is very concerning. Whilst there can be no doubt that Tesco did indeed promise a competition for the name of the new town centre, it is misleading of the Council to claim that the competition was to have been for schoolchildren - this appears to be a deliberate misreprentation of the truth intended to sensationalise the issue.

The minutes of last year’s planning meeting clearly state that BSTC and Tesco agreed to co-operate in the running of the competition, but it appears that the Council has done absolutely nothing and simply sat on its hands, waiting for Tesco to drive things forward. Why, when nothing had been heard early into 2008, didn’t the Council contact Tesco to find out what was going on? And why was there no reaction from BSTC when they received news from Tesco on 17^th March that the competition had been abandoned?

Here at The Journal we have grave concerns as to whether the residents of Bradley Stoke are going to get any non-retail community facilities at all in our new town centre. As discussed in our “Has a Council presence been shelved” article of 23^rd March, we are particularly concerned about the lack of news about progress on the provision of a council drop-in centre in the development. BSTC have refused to comment and SGC have only been able to confirm that “a combined council drop-in centre remains in the plans”. We would like to see evidence that both Councils are being proactive in pursuing the necessary discussions and not simply sitting on their hands as BSTC have done over the naming issue. Failure to act now may result in Tesco letting the unit allocated for the drop-in centre to a commercial tenant instead.

Local website sadlybroke got very excited on Friday, when they “revealed” sight of the Tesco press release in which the promise of a naming competition was made. Of course, the “revelation” was nothing of the sort for readers of The Journal, who have had access to the press release in our dedicated New Town Centre pages since 17^th February. Our “New town centre is The Brooks” article on 10^th April drew attention to the promise in connection with our discovery that “The Brooks” name was being used in commercial marketing literature for the centre.

The deadline for public comment on South Gloucestershire Council’s proposed bus priority scheme at the Aztec West roundabout is fast approaching. Comments, which may be sent by post or email, must arrive by midnight on Monday 28th April. For further details, see The Bradley Stoke Journal’s Public Consultations page.

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The old Tesco filling station in Bradley Stoke, which became redundant when a new station opened on 7th April, has finally been demolished to make way for Bradley Stoke’s new town square. The Bradley Stoke Journal’s photographer was on hand to record events as the forecourt canopy was dismantled on Wednesday 23rd April.

The town square will be flanked on three sides by shops and offices. The blocks on the south-eastern and south-western sides will have retail units on the ground floor and office units on the upper floor. Planning conditions imposed by South Gloucestershire Council require that these units be complete before the main Tesco Extra store is allowed to open.

The block on the north-western side (attached to the non-food retail units) will include a centre management office, a shop mobility unit and (subject to confirmation) a Council drop-in centre.

The town square itself (actually it’s more of an oval), will be available for community use. However, it is understood that it will be managed by The Brook Centre (i.e. Tesco) rather than Bradley Stoke Town Council.

On Friday (18th April) representatives of Bradley Stoke Cricket Club signed on a new rental agreement with Bradley Stoke Town Council, bringing months of often acrimonious negotiations to an end. The deal is reported to secure the club’s future at the Baileys Court cricket ground for the next forty years.

Bradley Stoke Town Council issued a press release about the agreement on Friday evening, while Mayor Julian Barge can be heard talking about the deal in an audio clip interview published on the sadlybroke website. This sudden wave of publicity is likely to be interpreted by cynics as a sign of the Council’s relief that one element in the long-running dispute over the Baileys Court rental agreements has finally been brought to a conclusion. However, many people in the town believe that the problems are of the Council’s own making, following their decision to unilaterally increase rents by massive amounts in 2007.

In stark contrast, negotiations with Northavon Bowls Club, who also have a ground at Baileys Court, continue to be deadlocked. A source within the Club has informed The Journal that recent attempts to bring in a mediator from South Gloucestershire Council have been rejected by the Town Council. However, a spokesman from the Council gave a different account, stating that the mediator, having examined the history of the case, decided that no useful arbitration would be possible.

Sources from both sides in the dispute have confirmed that the Club has been ordered to remove all its effects from the Baileys Court pavilion by 1st May 2008.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has announced improvements in the 312 bus service from Thornbury to Fishponds, with effect from Monday 21st April 2008.

The service, which passes along Braydon Avenue and the southern section of Brook Way, will be of interest to Bradley Stoke residents travelling to Bristol Parkway Station, Abbey Wood (MOD), U.W.E. Frenchay Campus and Frenchay Hospital.

There will be extra services during the peak period, plus earlier and later journeys in the mornings and evenings to extend the period over which the service operates.

The service is operated by Severnside Transport, with accessible buses for wheelchair users.

Links:

• New timetable for the 312 Thornbury to Fishponds bus service (on the SGC website).
• Table of all South Gloucestershire bus timetables.

South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) has announced a public consultation on plans to implement a bus priority scheme at the Aztec West roundabout and the section of Bradley Stoke Way between the roundabout and Woodlands Lane. The aim of the proposed work is to “allow buses to avoid the queues and delays that occur on the approaches to the roundabout during the weekday morning and evening peak periods”.

The proposals form part of the Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) identified in the Joint Local Transport Plan (JLTP) produced by the West of England Partnership, formed of four unitary authorities - Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire - and a range of social, economic and environmental partners.

The detailed plans are available on the SGC website and will be on display in the shopping centre of the Aztec West Business Park from Monday 14th April to Monday 18th April.

Responses to the consultation must be made to SGC by Monday 28th April.