A planning application for the construction of two 4-storey apartment blocks on vacant land at the southern end of Bradley Stoke Way looks set to be approved at a council committee meeting this Thursday (4th July 2024).
Officers at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) have recommended approval of the application despite it attracting objections from 62 local residents, Bradley Stoke Town Council and two local councillors.
The scheme will provide 50 apartments, of which 32 will have two bedrooms and 18 one bedroom.
Elevations will be finished in brick as the main material, with the main brick colour being pale red/pink and a secondary brick colour of light grey. The top storey of each block will have contrasting metal cladding.
All flats except the ground floor ones will have balconies of light grey metal work with glass balustrade.
Following negotiations with the developer, SGC officers have now accepted the applicant’s proposal for a total of 59 car parking spaces: 32 allocated spaces (one for each 2-bed flat) and 27 unallocated spaces (of which ten are nominally for visitors).
Active electric vehicle charging points will be provided for all parking spaces.
Air source heat pumps will be used to provide domestic hot water to the apartments, while space heating will be via electric panel heaters.
Solar photovoltaic panels on the flat roofs of the two buildings will generate 11.6kWp of power.
Although the application has been assessed on its originally submitted ‘affordable’ housing quota of 35 percent (i.e. 18 of the 50 units), it has recently come to light that the developer, Woodstock Homes, has now agreed terms to transfer the site to a housing association, Curo, subject to planning permission being granted. This means that, subject to approval by the committee, the scheme will come forward as a 100 percent affordable housing development.
In a report published ahead of the meeting of SGC Development Management Committee on Thursday, officers dismiss many of the concerns raised by local residents and conclude that “the benefits of making more efficient, high-density use of previously undeveloped land for accommodating housing needs” along with “the provision of 35 to 100 percent of affordable housing within the scheme” outweigh any identified negative aspects, such as “the less than substantial harm to the views from the Winterbourne Conservation Area”.
In respect of objections raised about residential amenity for residents of neighbouring properties, the case officer points out that, with the exception of one home in Ellan Hay Road, the separation distances exceed the 20m required by the council’s policies for a new property higher than two storeys.
On concerns raised about vehicular access to the new development, the council’s transport officer states that a ‘left-in left-out’ arrangement, proposed by some objectors, is “unnecessary” as the proposed access arrangements [unrestricted in direction] are not unsafe. He adds:
“To enforce a ‘left-in left-out’ arrangement it would require a physical barrier along the centre of the highway [Bradley Stoke Way] which may interfere with the existing operation of the access to the Worthy’s meaning that they also need to become left in left out.”
The officer adds that there is no objection to the need for vehicles turning left or right into or out of the site to cross the existing bus lane at the proposed vehicular access point.
With regard to some objectors’ demands for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to restrict [overspill] on-street parking in The Worthys, the council’s transport officer states that this cannot be justified in transportation terms. The officer report adds:
“The issues with TROs in residential areas is that they are often get a lot of objections, and what happens is if there is overspill parking it will just push it further into the existing residential development rather than allow it on the access road to The Worthys.”
Responding to concerns raised by some objectors that the four-storey apartment blocks would be “out of keeping with the street scene”, the case officer claims they would in fact be “an enhancement to the rather featureless character of the area”. The officer writes:
“It is acknowledged that some of the local opposition to the application relates to the fact that this development would be different to the prevailing two-storey detached dwellings in the vicinity. The difference would in fact be an enhancement to the rather featureless character of the area which is dominated by screen brick walls along Bradley Stoke way and an absence of a defined built form or street scene.”
“The proposed development would provide a landmark feature, creating enclosure and interest, whilst including materials- facing bricks- that would reflect the surrounding existing materials, and a good level of new tree planting along the site frontage. It is not a requirement to limit this type of development to the town centre only, as it provides useful entrance feature to the southern end of Bradley Stoke Way.”
More information
- Planning application P23/01546/F (SGC)
- Agenda and reports for the meeting of the Development Management Committee on Thursday 4th July [Item 13 refers] (SGC)
The officer report can be accessed by clicking on the title of item 13 in the meeting agenda.
The meeting starts at 11am and may be viewed via a webcast (live, and later as an archived recording).
Developer’s comment
A spokesperson for Woodstock Homes told the Journal:
“We’re extremely pleased that our application for 50 new one- and two-bedroom homes has been recommended for approval by South Gloucestershire Council officers. The application, submitted to the council in May 2023, includes 35 percent affordable homes, in line with council policy. However, Woodstock Homes is delighted to announce that it has recently entered into partnership with the housing association Curo which would see the development come forward as 100 percent affordable if the planning application is approved. The development would be delivered by Woodstock Homes and managed by Curo.”
If approved, by delivering 50 much needed affordable homes in a sustainable location, which would include solar PV panels to help keep resident’s bills down and air source heat pumps to sustainably meet hot water needs, the development would make a real impact on alleviating pressure on the council’s housing waiting list.”
Permission granted
UPDATE added Thursday 4th July 2024.
At its meeting earlier today (4th July), the Development Management Committee voted 5:3 to GRANT planning permission for the proposed development on land off Bradley Stoke Way.
Committee member Cllr John Bradbury, one of the two SGC ward members for Bradley Stoke South, did not take part in the debate (or vote) after he declared a non-pecuniary interest due to the proximity of his own home to the development site.
An earlier vote to defer a decision in order to allow further discussions to take place between council officers and the applicant regarding car parking provision failed, with four committee members voting FOR and four AGAINST.
🔗 View an archived video recording of the meeting.
The Development Management Committee voted 5:3 to GRANT planning permission for the proposed development on land off Bradley Stoke Way. For further details see update appended to the article.