The final statutory objection to plans for more than 500 new homes on a green field site on the edge of Bristol has been dropped, after Natural England said they were no longer worried about the impact the development would have on local bats.
Councillors will decide on Wednesday on the plans for the development called ‘Longmoor Village’, which is being linked to the project to build a ‘Sporting Quarter’, including a huge 5,000-capacity arena, hotel, three blocks of flats and a multi-storey car park next to Ashton Gate Stadium in South Bristol.
There was another boost to the plans on the eve of the decision by councillors. South Bristol MP Karin Smyth said that, even though she rarely comments on planning applications, she was backing both the Sporting Quarter plans and the 510 new homes nearby.
Read more: Ashton Gate 'Sporting Quarter' and new housing set to get go-ahead
Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown wants to get permission to build 510 new homes on a large field between Ashton Vale and the Long Ashton Park and Ride site, with the £24 million expected from the sale of the land to a housebuilder going towards creating the ‘Sporting Quarter’ at Ashton Gate.
Both planning applications will be decided on Wednesday and, while the plans for the Sporting Quarter have been relatively uncontroversial, the plans for the new housing development have been met with almost 200 objections, and initially received statutory objections from the Environment Agency and Natural England.
But now, Natural England have written to city planners to say they no longer oppose the principle of the housing development, after receiving further information about how the scheme will impact a hedgerow on the western side of the site that is a ‘highway’ for bats. City council planning officers have recommended both schemes for approval by councillors - albeit one in which the approval is dependent on a long list of conditions being agreed afterwards with council officers on everything from transport links and road layouts to the designs of bridges to cross both Colliters Brook and Longmoor Brook.
The plans for the Sporting Quarter will see a 565-space multi-storey car park built on what is currently the outside yard of Wickes, a hotel where Wickes is now, an arena and convention centre that would seat more than 3,600 and have a 5,000+ standing capacity, three blocks of flats either side of a ten storey office block, all on the west side of the Lansdown Stand at Ashton Gate Stadium.
In recent weeks as the decision day approaches at City Hall, those plans have been backed by Business West and Visit Bristol, as well as the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees. Now, Karin Smyth MP has said she supports the Sporting Quarter plan, as well as the scheme for 510 new homes to be built around 500 yards away on a green field next to Ashton Vale.
“I do not normally comment on planning applications, however I wish to express my support for these two developments, given their significance in delivering both homes and employment opportunities for the people I represent,” she told planning officers at City Hall.
“Bristol has a housing crisis, there is an acute shortage of homes to rent or buy, and more constituents contact me for help with housing than any other issue. On a daily basis I hear harrowing accounts of poor housing conditions, overcrowding or simply unaffordable rent.
“The cost of purchasing a home has continued to rise, beyond the reach of many of my constituents. Therefore, I will always seek to support the development of quality new homes of all tenures, in the right place.
“The Longmoor development will deliver over 150 affordable properties, providing much-needed secure long-term homes, which meets Bristol City Council’s affordable housing target of 30 per cent,” she added. “The site already has a fast public transport connection to central Bristol via Metrobus alongside existing good cycling and walking routes. Land has been set aside less than 500 metres away for a new railway station, contingent on the much-promised reopening of the Portishead passenger rail line.
“This location is much more appropriate for housing than other open spaces in Bristol South, development on which I have publicly opposed,” she said, adding that she is, however, still concerned about where the people living in the 510 new homes will go to school or the doctors.
Earlier this year, Mrs Smyth told Bristol Live she was deeply concerned about the scale of new housing in South Bristol not being matched at all by an expansion of public services like education and health. She urged the NHS and local councils to work more closely together to plan to expand these services.
She told city councillors that although she supported the Longmoor Village plan, it was still an issue. “I am aware of, and share, concerns about the impact of new housing on local services such as schools and GP practices,” she said. “Primary school places have expanded in BS3 in recent years, and the opening of two new secondary schools next autumn will ease pressure. I will continue to challenge the NHS, the Council and others to deliver the health services we need, potentially using funding from Community Infrastructure Levy from these, and other, developments,” she added.
Mrs Smyth gave her endorsement to the idea of the Sporting Quarter, which will see a new home created for the Bristol Flyers basketball team.
“The successful redevelopment of Ashton Gate Stadium has provided a venue of which the whole city can be proud,” she said. “I have no doubt that this project will deliver a much-needed Sports and Convention Centre for Bristol of similar high quality. At a time when so much investment is directed to the north of our city, the Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter is a very welcome proposal which will provide more jobs and opportunities for my constituents,” she added.
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Read more on the Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter saga:
- Dec 2020 - New plans for 'Longmoor Village' development revealed
- June 2021 - Final plans for Sporting Quarter and Longmoor Village submitted
- June 2021 - In pictures - what Ashton Gate's Sporting Quarter and Longmoor Village would look like
- October 2021 - Councillors pass motion against building homes on green field sites in South Bristol
- March 2022 - Number of people objecting to Longmoor Village plan reaches 150
- August 2022 - Environment Agency drops flood objection that would have stopped Longmoor Village plan
- September 2022 - Business West say scheme will 'supercharge Ashton Gate as major regional venue'
