More than 60 residents have objected to plans for up to 140 new homes to be built in Lockleaze. Bristol City Council is proposing to create a new residential development on the site of a parks and highways department storage depot on Dovercourt Road, as part of plans to build 2,000 homes a year in the city.
Public consultation has been ongoing since March 2021 and an application for outline planning permission was submitted on February 8, although it has not yet been approved. It proposes that there will be 64 houses, 32 one-bedroom flats and 44 two-bed ones, and at least 30 per cent of these will be affordable homes.
A planning statement submitted by the council as part of the application says that this will "address an identified housing need in the city and Lockleaze, where there is a shortfall". But 68 locals have lodged objections to the proposals on the council's planning website as of March 24. Their concerns span a wide range of issues, including an increase in traffic in their area.
Read more: Early designs and timeline for new 150-home housing estate revealed
Conor Hickey, who lives on Dovercourt Road, wrote: "Firstly, the plan is for too many dwellings with insufficient available parking. This will inevitably result on an increased number of cars parking on the road, which is already congested. This will potentially lead to unsafe conditions on our roads."
The council plan to create 170 car parking spaces, which includes 87 spaces for the flats and 83 for the houses, if the maximum number of 140 homes are built. But Mr Hickey also complained about the access to the site, and added: "The proposed main entrance is narrow and unsuitable for the number of proposed dwellings on the site."
Hollie Matthews, who also lives on Dovercourt Road, voiced similar concerns and wrote: "The road is not wide enough to accommodate two way traffic to get into the development via the depot access road. This will therefore back traffic up along Dovercourt Road."
The council's planning statement says there will be "accessibility improvements" on the road to solve any potential issues. However, besides possible access issues, some residents also complained that Lockleaze is lacking the local facilities to accommodate hundreds of new residents, and that community provision should be prioritised over more houses.
Jonathan Pole, who lives on Elmcroft Crescent, wrote: "This housing development provides absolutely nothing to the local community. Lockleaze already has a huge lack of amenities, with the current such as schools and shops not meeting high standards.
"This will further increase traffic because those in affordable housing will need to travel further to get to amenities. It would be useful to see some local benefit being added in to reduce this."
And Lucy Lyon, of Dovercourt Road, added her voice to the objections and wrote: "The number of dwellings is too many for the area, we do not have the infrastructure in place to cope with so many in one small area (and this is before we even consider the many other developments underway in the area).
"It will lead to traffic/parking problems, more stress on local amenities, not to mention the negative impact on the environment. A smaller more considered development could focus on providing genuine quality of life for both new and existing residents while considering our natural environment."
The Dovercourt Road proposal is one of several which have been designed to revitalise the "underused" Bristol suburb, including 188 new modular homes at Bonnington Walk, which was approved despite dozens of objections, 32 new affordable homes at Muller Road and 47 affordable homes at Branwhite Close, on the site of the fire-ravaged former Gainsborough pub.
You can view the planning application and leave a comment by clicking here.
