A new development of flats in Horfield will take away “green space where children play” for car parking. Developers are planning to build six two-bedroom flats on Tilling Road, near Southmead Hospital.
KS Developments Group was given planning permission by Bristol City Council’s development control committee on Wednesday, May 18. However, the committee heard concerns about how 10 trees would be chopped down and a green lawn where children play would be concreted over for parking spaces.
Councillor Philippa Hulme, representing Horfield, said: “We’ve had a large number of objections to the proposed development, and many others have told me informally of their concerns. The development would involve removing 10 trees and destroying some much loved grassland where children play.
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“The trees and green space contribute greatly to the amenity of the area—they also contribute to carbon capture, mitigating the effects of climate change. Of course the trees will be replaced, but it will take many years for them to grow to the size of those currently on site.”
The development will be built on the site of the former St John’s Ambulance centre, which closed a few years ago, and the site has remained empty since. Other concerns raised include over parking, as that part of Horfield suffers from heavy parking pressure due to the nearby hospital. But the scheme will provide six off-road parking spaces, one per apartment.
Fergus Sykes, the applicant’s planning consultant, said: “This would provide a small but important contribution to the local housing supply. The applicant has listened to previous concerns and significantly reduced the scale of the proposals.
“The scale of the proposed development would be in keeping with the surrounding area and wouldn’t cause any unacceptable overlooking or overshadowing. 11 new trees would be planted in place of the existing, relatively young trees at the site.”
Despite concerns over the loss of the green lawn, and potentially increasing parking pressures, councillors on the committee voted to grant planning permission for the scheme.
Cllr Katja Hornchen said: “It was quite obvious that the lawn in front of the house at the moment is extremely biodiverse; there’s a lot of different plant species in it, which is quite unusual for an inner city location. If you’re cutting it up for parking spaces, it seems like you’re taking away space for children to play.”
However, the land is privately owned and not specifically designated for public use, according to a planning officer, so there is little the council could do to protect it.
