After more than two years of deliberations, two planning applications for a total of more than 1,600 new homes on former green belt land between Stoke Gifford and Hambrook look set to be brought to the decision table within the next few weeks.

The East of Harry Stoke New Neighbourhood site was allocated for development when South Gloucestershire Council’s Core Strategy was adopted in December 2013 and housebuilder Crest Nicholson submitted the two planning applications in August 2016. One application is for land south of the Great Western mainline railway and the other for land north of it.

The new neighbourhood will be accessed from the recently opened Stoke Gifford Transport Link (a.k.a. Stoke Gifford By-Pass) which provides a link between Parkway North and the A4174 Ring Road.

The application on land south of the railway, PT16/4782/O, seeks outline permission for a mixed use development including 1,290 new homes, a local centre, community facilities, landscaping and open space and detailed access junctions.

The application on land north of the railway, PT16/4928/O, is for 327 new homes and associated infrastructure and landscaping. This is a hybrid application, with full permission being sought for some elements and outline permission for others. The full application is for 150 homes, an earthworks strategy, access and public open space. Outline permission is being sought for 177 new homes, as well as a new primary school and nursery.

So-called ‘site inspection meetings’, attended by councillors who sit on the committee which will eventually determine the applications, are to be held in the coming weeks, with the first, for the application south of the railway, taking place this Friday (21st September).

The meeting point for Friday’s meeting, which is open to the public, is at the junction of the Stoke Gifford Transport Link and Oxleigh Way (entrance to Highbrook Park). Councillors are expected to arrive for the meeting at 10.45am.  An ‘issues for consideration’ report prepared ahead of the meeting may be viewed under item 11 of the agenda.

More: Crest ‘north’ application set for decision in Nov/Dec »

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South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) and Network Rail have published further information about the expected impacts of a 21-month project to replace the old railway bridge on Gipsy Patch Lane and construct new bus lanes for the proposed Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme.

The latest documents were released in early June, just a few weeks before the two related planning applications are expected to be determined by SGC’s Development Control (West) Committee on 12th July.

The existing masonry railway bridge has a height clearance of only 4m and creates a ‘pinch point’ on the local road network. The replacement bridge will be of concrete construction and will span 24m, approximately 14m wider than the current bridge. To accommodate taller vehicles, such as double-decker buses, the carriageway will be lowered by approximately 1.7m as it passes under the bridge.

Demolition of the existing bridge and construction of the new bridge is now scheduled to take place during a twelve-day “possession” (closure) of the railway over Easter 2020.

More: Traffic Management Framework document published »

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A South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) site inspection meeting was held on 4th May in connection with the planning application for the replacement of the old railway bridge on Gipsy Patch Lane in Little Stoke. This application is one of four currently being considered for the proposed Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, which will provide a direct express bus link between Bristol Parkway Station and The Mall bus station via the planned new developments on Filton Airfield.

As previously reported, work at the railway bridge site will require a full closure of Gipsy Patch Lane for up to eight months, which is likely to cause significant disruption to traffic flows in surrounding areas.

Two businesses located very close to the railway bridge, Strenco Tools and Tyres Direct, have raised objections, citing concerns over access and impact on trade, and calling for a thorough assessment of the impact of the road closure on the local economy to be carried out.

SGC officers have been asked to report back to councillors with details of future consultation and public engagement with regard to arrangements for the construction period, and in particular the closure of Gipsy Patch Lane. They have also been asked to consider whether there are any options available to enable the works to be accelerated.

An SGC spokesperson said:

“Following on from the site inspection meeting, this application, along with the related one for widening works on Gipsy Patch Lane, is expected to go to the meeting of the Development Control (West) Committee on 12th July.”

More information and related links:

• Planning application PT18/0986/F
  • Meeting of the Development Control (West) Sites Inspection Sub Committee on 4th May 2018:
    • Agenda (item 11 refers)
    • Minutes (item 6 refers)

This article originally appeared in the June 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on pages 4 & 5). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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Replacement railway bridge will be widely welcomed, but council says installing it (and some new bus lanes for ‘MetroBus 2’) will require a FULL CLOSURE of Gipsy Patch Lane for up to EIGHT MONTHS.

The long overdue replacement of the old railway bridge on Gipsy Patch Lane in Little Stoke has taken a significant step forward with the submission of a formal planning application.

The railway bridge planning application, along with three others associated with South Gloucestershire Council’s (SGC’s) proposed Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension (CPME) scheme, was submitted at the end of February and, following validation, duly appeared on the council’s website on 9th March.

Once complete and services start operating in 2021, the CPME will extend part of the North Fringe to Hengrove MetroBus route which is currently being built. Passengers using the extension will be able to benefit from a direct link between Bristol Parkway Station and The Mall bus station, along a route which will pass through the former Rolls-Royce East Works site (now known as Horizon 38) and the soon-to-be redeveloped Filton Airfield site.

The second CPME planning application of local significance is one which proposes the widening of Gipsy Patch Lane on both sides of the railway bridge to accommodate new bus lanes. To the west of the bridge, the widening (along a 107m length) will result in a new bus lane in each direction. To the east of the bridge, the widening (along a 340m length) will result in a new bus lane in the eastbound direction only.

To facilitate the provision of the new bus lanes, the existing carriageway will be widened by between 7m and 9m. Works to widen the carriageway will all be within the existing adopted highway boundary, however, they will entail the removal of approximately 22 trees along Gipsy Patch Lane.

More: Construction schedule and details of road closures »

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