A development company’s promotion of Woodlands Golf Course as a potential site for up to 2,000 new homes could be given renewed impetus following the news that a strategic housing plan has effectively been thrown out by government inspectors.

South West Strategic Developments Ltd (SWSD) put forward the Trench Lane site as a candidate for large-scale housing development when the first draft of the West of England’s Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) was being formulated in 2015. It failed to make the final version of the document, but SWSD contested the rationale behind that decision and continued to push for the site to be included after the JSP entered its ‘examination in public’ stage.

SWSD also submitted a second proposal, for a smaller development of 500 homes at Woodlands. This alternative plan would see one of the two golf courses retained. However, it was emphasised that this was being put forward “without prejudice” to its efforts to have the larger scheme included.

Local Conservative councillors John Ashe and Roger Avenin have voiced strong opposition to the Woodlands proposals, claiming that the development, if allowed to go ahead, would cause considerable problems for residents and businesses in Bradley Stoke. They also promoted a petition against the proposals in the run up to the local elections in May.

With the JSP inspectors now questioning the rationale used by the four West of England councils in selecting the final list of strategic development locations for inclusion in the plan, it looks likely that previously rejected sites will have to be re-evaluated.

More: Comment from SWSD on JSP inspector’s findings »

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Two local councillors have launched a second petition against a developer’s plan to build 2,000 new homes on the site of a golf course on the borders of Bradley Stoke.

The proposals for the development of Woodlands Golf Course are not supported by South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) as they fail to fit in with the strategic vision for the region outlined in the West of England Joint Spatial Plan (JSP), which is currently being analysed by two independent inspectors appointed by the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.

One of the purposes of the JSP is to identify so-called strategic development locations (SDLs) which have the potential to deliver a significant contribution to the number of new homes assessed to be required across the region in the period up to 2036.

South West Strategic Developments Ltd (SWSD), which is promoting the site, is continuing to push for its inclusion in the JSP, arguing that it is a better option than others currently within the draft plan, such as Buckover Garden Village and Charfield.

The developer’s proposals, which first emerged in 2015 and have been promoted under the name ‘Woodlands Garden Village’, include “policy compliant” levels of affordable homes, a new primary school, a retirement care facility and new sports facilities that would be available to local clubs.

More recently, in response to an appeal put out by SGC in relation to work it is doing to prepare a list of potential sites for smaller ‘non-strategic’ housing development, SWSD has submitted a second proposal, for a smaller development of 500 homes at Woodlands. This would see one of the two golf courses retained. However, SWSD emphasises that this has been put forward “without prejudice” to its efforts to have the larger scheme included in the JSP.

More: New petition launched on SGC website » »

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The ‘examination in public’ of a crucial strategic planning document which designates acceptable sites for major housing developments in the West of England over the next 18 years has been delayed by several months after independent inspectors appointed by the government requested additional information from the area’s four councils.

The delay could give the promoter of a scheme to build 2,000 homes at Woodlands Golf Course, near Bradley Stoke, a second chance to get the site included in the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) as a so-called strategic development location (SDL), having failed to convince the local councils to designate it as such in the initial version of the document.

The JSP was submitted to government in April this year for an examination process to confirm that the policies and plans drawn up over the past three years meet statutory requirements. On behalf of the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, two independent planning inspectors are following a process to test the work done by the local authorities to ensure that the JSP is fit for purpose and fulfils their legal obligation to produce a ‘sound’ plan.

The inspectors have requested additional information from the councils in relation to the Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and the Habitat Regulation Assessment (HRA), as well as requesting clarification and further evidence within other technical work areas, including transport.

The councils will therefore run a six-week consultation process in November and December this year to give people the opportunity to see the information that will be provided and to make comments on it. That feedback will be passed to the inspectors to consider as they prepare for the next phase of their assessment of the JSP. This will mean that the public hearings part of the examination process which had been anticipated to take place this autumn is now expected to take place around mid-May 2019.

More: Promoters claim site is "in an extremely sustainable location" »

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Local Conservative councillors John Ashe and Roger Avenin are raising awareness of a land development company’s continued efforts to have the Woodlands Golf Course site included in a crucial strategic planning document, potentially opening the way for 2,000 new homes to be built at this location.

One of the purposes of the West of England Councils’ Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) is to identify so-called strategic development locations (SDLs) which have the potential to deliver a significant contribution to the number of new homes assessed to be required across the region in the period up to 2036.

Formulation of the JSP began in 2015 and it went through three rounds of public consultation prior to being submitted to the secretary of state for housing,communities and local government on 13th April 2018. The next stage in the process will be for the government to review the plan through an ‘Examination in Public’, which is expected to take place in autumn 2018.

The Woodlands Golf Course site appeared as a potential ‘urban extension’ SDL in the first draft of the JSP published in November 2015 (under the generic title of ‘land north of M4/M5’). However, by the time the second draft was published in November 2016 it had been removed from the maps and was mentioned only in a section headed ‘Locations considered and not put forward for inclusion in the emerging spatial strategy’. There is then no mention of the site in the final ‘publication document’ version of the JSP recently submitted to the secretary of state.

More: Developer continues to push for site’s inclusion in JSP »

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