Officers at South Gloucestershire Council have recommended approval of a ‘reserved matters’ planning application for the final two phases of a 1,200-dwelling housing development in Harry Stoke.
However, a decision on the application will now be made by a committee of councillors after Stoke Gifford ward member Neel Das Gupta successfully invoked the ‘call in’ procedure.
In his statement of reasons for calling in the application, Cllr Das Gupta argued that the proposed construction vehicle access route along Oxleigh Way and Clover Way will “seriously affect the residential amenity and safety for many Brooklands Park residents”.
The applicant, Crest Nicholson, already has outline permission to build the final batch of 229 homes, designated ‘Phases 6 & 7’, on a parcel of vacant land that lies between the existing Highbrook Park estate and the A4174 Ring Road. The current reserved matters application seeks approval for finer details of the scheme, specifically “appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale”.
The proposals for Phases 6 & 7 are outlined in this previous article by the Journal:
Revised plans submitted for 229 homes on land between Highbrook Park and A4174
Access concerns
A condition on the outline planning consent for the overall 1,200-home scheme required the means of construction traffic access to be provided alongside each reserved matters application. For Phases 6 & 7, Crest Nicholson’s Construction Management Plan shows construction traffic entering from the adjacent Brooklands Park development via a west-east ‘haul road’ (Tibaldstone Road, off Clover Way).
Stoke Gifford Parish Council, along with a number of local residents, has objected to this aspect of the reserved matters application, and asked for other possible options to be investigated. In its submission, the parish council commented:
“We ask for alternative routes to be investigated, to access the site from the east without needing to cross the Ham Brook and to keep the construction traffic away from Brooklands Park residents in Stoke Gifford parish.”
“Accessing the site directly off either Rosedown Avenue / Stoke Gifford By-Pass or from the old Maules Lane access off the A4174 would seem possible solutions.”
In response, Crest Nicholson commissioned a transport consultant firm to assess the viability of alternative construction access routes. These include a new access off the Stoke Gifford By-Pass and the use of an approved [but not yet constructed] bus gate on the wider site.
A construction access off the Stoke Gifford By-Pass would involve the creation of a new temporary access and a 180m haul road through an area proposed to be left as ‘open space’. This would result in “unacceptable ecological and landscape concerns”. Further, it could give rise to “road safety concerns” to the junction between the A4174 and the Stoke Gifford By-Pass.
Use of the [yet to be constructed] approved bus gate would involve the need to open the bus gate to general traffic to allow construction vehicles to access. This could result in “unacceptable congestion and highway safety issues” at the nearby major junction [Coldharbour Lane] on the A4174.
Separately, the council’s highways officers assessed whether Maules Lane would be an appropriate construction access for the proposed development. They expressed “concern” regarding the impact of slow moving and turning traffic at the junction of Maules Lane and the A4174 which is “a very busy arterial road”. Consequently, they concluded that using this access would be “detrimental to highway safety and congestion on the A4174”.
In their report, council officers point out that construction activities within the existing Brooklands Park development are expected to continue until “approximately July 2026”. With Crest Nicholson stating that the building programme for Phases 6 & 7 will end in “approximately February 2027”, the Oxleigh Way / Clover Way access route would experience an estimated 8 months of additional use.
In concluding that the proposal is acceptable in terms of ‘residential amenity’, officers also point to a condition of the extant outline planning permission which restricts the hours of working:
“The hours of working on site during the period of construction shall be restricted to 8am-6pm Mondays to Fridays; and 8am-1pm on Saturdays and no working shall take place on Sundays or public holidays. The term ‘working’ shall, for the purpose of clarification of this condition include: the use of any plant or machinery (mechanical or other), the carrying out of any maintenance/cleaning work on any plant or machinery deliveries to the site and the movement of vehicles within the site. Any ‘working’ outside these hours shall have the prior written consent of the local planning authority.”
Residents’ petition
In parallel with the representations made in respect of the reserved matters planning application, residents of Brooklands Park have started a petition which highlights “ongoing road safety and pedestrian risk to the residents” due to the current construction activities within Brooklands Park and calls for “investment in an alternative option [for construction traffic access to Phases 6 & 7] to reduce risk to life and injury”.
The petition is hosted on the change.org website:
Residents Opposition to Brookland Park Construction Traffic Plan (PT17/5847/RM)
Other matters
Following a period of “extensive negotiations” with the applicant, which resulted in a number of revisions to the submitted plans, council officers report that they are broadly supportive of other aspects of the reserved matters application, including urban design, landscaping, public open space, transportation (including vehicle and cycle parking provision), energy and sustainability, ecology, public rights of way, drainage, archaeology and affordable housing.
In recommending approval, officers express the view that “the harm[s] identified would not clearly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the development. Notably, the significant benefit of the provision of market housing and affordable housing on this allocated site which already has outline planning permission.”
Committee meeting
The reserved matters planning application will be considered at a meeting of South Gloucestershire Council’s Strategic Sites Delivery Committee on Thursday 1st February 2024.
The meeting takes place in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood, starting at 11am.
A live webcast of the meeting will be available, as will an archived recording. See the link provided on the agenda page referenced below.
Members of the public wishing to speak at the meeting, either in person or via remote access must register their interest at least 24 hours before the start of the meeting. For details of how to register, see the agenda page referenced below.
More information and related links
- Agenda and reports for the committee meeting on 1st February 2024 [item 11 refers] (SGC)
- Reserved matters planning application PT17/5847/RM (SGC)
- Approved outline planning application PT06/1001/O (SGC)
- ‘Land at Harry Stoke’ development (The Journal)
Documents of note accompanying the reserved matters planning application are:
- 20 SEP 2023: CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PLAN UPDATE (SEPTEMBER 2023)
- 05 JAN 2024: CREST – CONSTRUCTION ACCESS COMMENTS
- 05 JAN 2024: PLAN SHOWING CONSTRUCTION ACCESS ACCOMPANYING PLAN
- 10 JAN 2024: HIGHWAY COMMENTS – CONSTRUCTION ACCESS
The above documents may be viewed by selecting the ‘Documents’ tab or menu item.
Additional documents
UPDATE added 1st February 2024.
The following additional documents appeared on the planning portal yesterday (31st January 2024):
- 31 JAN 2024, TRANSPORT OFFICER – ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
- 31 JAN 2024, REVISED CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PLAN
- 31 JAN 2024, SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE ON CONSTRUCTION MATTERS
The transport officer’s view remains unchanged:
“In summary there are no highway safety reasons to object to the use of [Crest Nicholson’s proposed] route subject to implementation of the updated Construction Management Plan to ensure the route is safe for all users particularly vulnerable road users including disabled people, children, and people with buggies etc.”
Application approved
UPDATE added 1st February 2024.
Members of South Gloucestershire Council’s Strategic Sites Delivery Committee today voted unanimously to approve the reserved matters planning application for ‘Land at Harry Stoke’ Phases 6 & 7, subject to an informative being added to the decision notice which encourages Crest Nicholson to set up a stakeholder liaison group.
🔗 Webcast recording of the meeting of the Strategic Sites Delivery Committee on 1st February 2024 (SGC)
Meeting report
UPDATE added 2nd February.
“Unacceptable safety risk” of construction vehicles driving to new housing estate
Locals have raised concerns about an “unacceptable safety risk” of construction vehicles driving to a proposed new housing estate. Crest Nicholson has received planning permission for the latest two phases of the Brooklands Park development in Harry Stoke.
Phases six and seven will include 229 homes, on a corner of land next to the ring road and the Bradley Stoke bypass. South Gloucestershire Council granted full permission for the plans during a meeting of the Strategic Sites Delivery Committee on Thursday 1st February 2024.
But construction vehicles will access the site through Oxleigh Way and Clover Way, where many people already live. Hundreds of petitioners raised concerns about road safety with large lorries driving along streets used by many pedestrians.
Councillor Andrew Shore, from Stoke Gifford Parish Council, said:
“There’s extensive residential traffic on these roads for the large number of dwellings now occupied. You’re being asked to approve adding additional construction traffic onto these same roads … creating unacceptable safety risk for the public.”
Neil Jarvis, speaking on behalf of the Brooklands Park Residents Association, added:
“The roads and the pavements remain unsurfaced, and are likely to be until 2027. The degraded tarmac, potholes, raised ironworks and ramps all present a trip hazard to pedestrians, children crossing and also cyclists.”
“There’s also regular speeding on the estate, all day. It’s chaotic and dangerous. There are taxis, vans, lorries and commuters in large numbers. There young children playing on existing cul-de-sacs within yards of the construction route.”
But council officers and developers told the committee all the alternative routes for construction vehicles would be unsuitable. They also agreed to work with the local community to find compromises and solutions to long-standing concerns on safety.
George Yates, from Crest Nicholson, said:
“The construction route has been in operation since 2020. We’ve worked with council officers to consider alternatives, which are either unsafe for people on foot or cyclists, would clog up the ring road or destroy natural habitats.”
“As responsible developers, we will do as much as we can to minimise the disruptive impact of construction. When people buy a home from us, we explain there is likely to be an impact from construction and the timing of those future phases. I understand the residents’ concerns today, we hear the message loud and clear. We’re listening, we get it.”
Report by Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Decision notice
UPDATE added 16th February 2024.
The Decision Notice is now available on the planning portal webpage. To access this, select the Documents tab and look for the document with the description ‘Decision’ published on 13th February 2024.
One condition on the decision requires the Construction Management Plan to include:
“Arrangements for ongoing engagement and review through the construction period between the developer, ward councillors, the parish council and the Brooklands Park and Highbrook View Residents Association.”
A report from the meeting on 1st February 2024 has been appended to the article, along with a link to a webcast recording.