Yate Town FC

Yate Town Football Club refused plans

Plans for a large new housing estate near Yate have been rejected on the grounds it would amount to destructive “urban sprawl” and swallow up a village.

Councillors narrowly refused Redrow Homes’ proposal to build 118 houses on Iron Acton Way saying the development would see the village of Engine Common “subsumed” by the town of Yate.

However, because today’s vote went against the recommendation of a planning officer to approve the application, a final decision will be made at a later date by a higher-level committee at South Gloucestershire Council.

The officer told members of a planning committee on Friday (January 8) that Redrow Homes wanted to build on 5.7ha of mostly “poor quality” agricultural farmland around Yate Town Football Club.

The land is in the countryside outside Yate’s settlement boundary and is not designated for housing, so building on it “conflicts with” council planning policy, he said.

But national planning policy directs local authorities to boost the housing supply, and the benefits of the scheme “outweigh the harms”, he added.

The developer is promising to make 42 of the homes affordable and supply on-site parking with an electric vehicle charging point for every household, the strategic sites delivery committee heard.

Redrow Homes has also said it will upgrade the floodlights at the football club, upgrade two bus stops on Iron Acton Way, and provide nearly £1million for extra community infrastructure and services. 12 The proposed new housing is in a good location because it is just 20 minutes walk from Yate Railway Station, the officer added.

The site was one of the locations identified for strategic development in the failed joint spatial plan for housing withdrawn by the councils for Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, and Bath and North East Somerset after it was rejected by the government last year.

But opposition to the application from 84 residents, two local district councillors, Yate Town Council and Iron Acton Parish Council included strongly held sentiment that the distinct rural character of Engine Common would be ruined by such a large housing estate.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Frampton Cotterell Claire Young said: “Anyone coming along Iron Acton Way will feel they have entered Yate.

“Engine Common is a village community with a separate identity,” she said. “It’s important that that’s preserved.

“Allowing this application would be delivering part of the abandoned joint spatial plan by the back door,” she added.

The committee heard that a previous attempt to build 210 homes in the area had been refused, and the decision upheld at appeal in 2013, as it was considered an “inappropriate suburban bulge”.

But the officer said the revised plans included fewer homes and other changes, including allotments and a play area.

Matthew Kendrick for Redrow Homes said the changes created a “defined visual buffer” between Yate and Engine Common.

“The previously proposals directly adjoined Engine Common,” Mr Kendrick said. “These proposals do not do that,” he said.

“This application seeks to deliver much needed housing to boost the council’s housing supply.”

The planning committee refused the application by five votes to four, saying they thought that, on balance, the harms outweighed the benefits and the council’s planning policies ought to be followed. Conservative member June Bamford said: “We’re going to have Yate, Engine Common and Iron Acton just one long scene of urban sprawl.”

Summing up the committee’s reasons for refusal, a democratic services officer said: “The scale and layout of the scheme would amount to an inappropriate suburban bulge at odds with the character and identity of the village.

“Further, the proposal would blur the distinction between Yate and Engine Common, and result in the village being subsumed as part of the neighbouring town.

“The separate identity of the village would be lost forever and the setting of Engine Common would be seriously compromised.”

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Bristol’s first citizen’s assembly, which will see a group of residents help shape the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place this weekend.

The assembly is being created as a response to the city-wide conversation ‘Your City Our Future’ that took place last year, where more than 6,500 citizens gave their views on the future of the city.

Bristol City Council asked people about their experiences during lockdown as part of the conversation, also posing questions about what they wanted Bristol to be like in the future.

A number of valuable views and ideas were fed back, with the citizens’ assembly providing the mechanism for acting on them by giving members of the public the time and opportunity to learn about and discuss a topic, before reaching conclusions and then making recommendations to be taken forward.

Thousands of letters were sent to random households across the city in December, inviting people to register to take part on the 60-person panel. An independent organisation reviewed the responses to help create a group that reflects the diverse citizens of Bristol, so as many varied opinions as possible can feed into the discusThe first topics of discussion at the assembly will sit within the broad themes of the environment and climate change; transport; and health and social care.

Councillor Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor said: “This is such an exciting opportunity for residents across our communities to help shape Bristol’s recovery following COVID-19.

“Only through listening to the voices of residents, can we truly create a city that offers opportunity for all. I’m proud our assembly actively sought the involvement of all communities and reflects the rich diversity of people living in Bristol.”

Councillor Paula O’Rourke said: “The Your City Our Future conversation and the citizens’ assembly is about giving Bristolians a way to shape the future of our city. During the assembly experts and people with lived experience will present information on each of the key topics and members will then talk about what they have heard.

“I am confident that in this way their insights and priorities will help us plan the recovery and a better future for all in Bristol.”

The first citizens’ assembly will be held this Saturday 16 January and Sunday 17 January. The assembly will discuss and answer the important question ‘How do we recover from COVID-19 and create a better future for all in Bristol?’

Further information about Bristol’s Citizens’ Assembly can be found on bristol.citizenspace. com/ycof/

When it comes to bidding for new clients, design and construction specialist Dan Grimshaw, explains why he walks away if the process involves competitive tender when it’s based on cost alone

With a new Cabinet Office Green Paper set to simplify present complex public procurement procedures, South-West-based design construction specialist Dan Grimshaw, says there are lessons to be learned from the private sector when it comes to rethinking the procurement process.

Dan, founder and director of Beam Developments, based in Bath and London, believes the process is ‘massively wasteful’ and that a negotiated tender route – where a client invites one contractor of their choice to submit a tender response for a project – is the way ahead.

“The main motivation for people opting for competitive tender is to get a comparison price from more than one person, but the procedure doesn’t do an awful lot else and tragically doesn’t even do that very well,” said Dan.

“Sadly, everyone has got used to this paradigm where everything's over-budget and over-time – with HS2 rail network £800 million over budget a case in point – when the truth is, they just weren’t priced and programmed properly in the first place. “Part of that is driven by competitive tender, by people claiming to be able to do things that they can't do and then making up for it later on. This has a massively negative impact and serves to sow seeds of distrust in procurement as a process.

“In my own business if I learn a job is to be decided through competitive tender, I just walk away when it’s based on cost alone. It’s too costly in terms of resources, and also for the potential client who just ends up with a big spreadsheet of bloated numbers to compare and with prices that bear no relation to reality.”

Dan, a specialist in the design and construction of high-end residential property for private clients and developers, says from a private sector perspective it is about negotiating the right tender at the right price for the job and then getting the job done.

“It’s not about who can pretend to be cheapest and then win the work because this will inevitably mean costs are driven up one way or another,” he added.

In the construction industry, negotiated contracts are typically a transparent collaboration between a specialist builder, an architect and the client. The builder is selected at the start of the design process for their reputation and experience based on the specific type of project.

“The result is not predicted. It’s still competitive. Even if we do negotiate tender we’re still up against other contractors and other project management companies out there that the clients will be looking at. We still have to win that client but we do it on merit, on track record, on recommendations and on the cost that we propose it is going to be.”

Dan says the competitive tender process can also allow clients to try to do more than they can really afford, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

“If you want to go down that route – where somebody is going to tell you that you can have something and then through the process of building it you're going to find out that you can't and what’s more it's going to cost more Dan Grimshaw is a mentor to the British – then fine, but I just don't think that's the best Library’s prestigious Innovating for Growth way.” programme, funded by the European RegionThe Government published its Green Paper businesses that are looking to grow. “Transforming public procurement” last month al Development Fund designed to help small on proposed reform to the UK public pro- Since founding Beam in 2011, Dan’s work curement with the end of the Brexit transition has focussed on residential homes for clients period providing “an historic opportunity to in London with project values up to £2 million overhaul our outdated public procurement in areas including Highgate, Hampstead, regime”. Clerkenwell, Chelsea, Marylebone and Wimbledon TSA ACCOUNTANTS BRISTOL LTD ACCA CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS AND ADVISORS

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Covid vaccination centre opens in Bristol stadium

An ex-professional footballer Terrence Wilkinson aged 84 was the first person encountered when he checked in for his Covid-19 jab at the mass vaccination centre at the Ashton Gate stadium, was not a nurse or doctor, but Boris Johnson. “It was a bit of a surprise,” said Terrence. And not an entirely pleasant one. “He’s not one of my favourite people. As far as I’m concerned he’s got a lot to answer for.” But Terrence, from Radstock in Somerset, was glad to receive his vaccination. “It was fine. Not painful. It’s a relief really. You’ve got to do it. You can’t ignore it. Covid’s here and we’ve got to get rid of it. People should get the jab done. We’ve got to do our bit to help, otherwise God knows what will happen.” He said his behaviour would not change. “I’ll still keep my distance. You’ve got to be sensible.” “There’s no doubt that it’s a massively country already. We’ve done about 23% of the elderly residents of care homes.” Boris said in a further statement that they hope to vaccinate a further 10,000 people a week at Ashton Gate. however day one was steady as around several hundred people did receive vaccinations.

In a Statement Irene Reynolds, 80, a retired office worker, from Weston-super-Mare, said she thought it would have been busier. “I am surprised at how quiet it was to be honest. I thought there would be queues and queues. I had to travel a little bit, but it is all for our own good, isn’t it? The great thing is I feel really reassured now. I am the first one to get it out of my friends,” she said.

Sue Jones, a retired nurse from Clevedon, North Somerset, who has volunteered to return to help out, received her vaccination. “It is a game changer, although it will obviously take time,” she said. “It will be a while before we get through people that are high risk and get to people who are working age, so we all

have to be patient.” Jacqueline Corney, 56, a social care worker from north Somerset, was among the first to receive her jab at Ashton Gate. She said: “I feel privileged to be on the list to get it. I’m really happy and I think everyone should get it when they’re asked.”

She said she was missing seeing her elderly mother and eight-year-old grandson. “I see my mum sometimes as I’m in her bubble but it’s a bit scary. My grandson I haven’t really seen for three or four months, since the summer.”

During his visit, the Boris Johnson said vaccinating the 15 million people in the top Jacqueline urged people to carry on following the rules. “I think people aren’t following the four priority groups by mid-February was rules quite as well as they did before. There achievable. are lots more people out and about and not stretching target,” he said. “We believe it’s achievable and we’re going to put absolutely everything into it. “People need to pay more attention. We only have a little while longer to go with this. We’ve only got to follow the rules for a short time. “Today, I think I can confirm that we’ve done Then we’ll get the vaccinations and go back to roughly 40% of the 80-year-olds in this normal hopefully.” social distancing like they were before.

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Those who flout Covid regulations and attempt to drive to Devon and Cornwall face being caught on camera.

Police in Devon and Cornwall have Police and Crime Commissioner for announced this week they are using Devon and Cornwall Alison Hernandez said: automatic number plate recognition to make "I welcome the force’s use of ANPR to sure only essential journeys are being made monitor vehicle movements and make sure during lockdown. the only journeys being made here are This weekend the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police Shaun Sawyer said "Using this technology helps us see where ANPR cameras across the region would be certain vehicles have come from and allows used to help enforce Covid-19 regulations. officers to further investigate their reasons to As well as static cameras at the roadside in locations across the region, every officer in the force has access to an ANPR app on their devices which allows them to access live information about vehicles they pass. essential ones. enforce the law. 19