Defence of town was 'ill-prepared'

CAMPAIGNERS say they are furious at a "lack of preparation" by South Gloucestershire Council in its case against the 595-home development approved by a government inspector.

Pressure group Thornbury Against Poorly-Planned Development (TRAPP'D) said the decision to allow Barwood Development Securities to build 595 new homes west of Park Farm was "a body blow to Thornbury’s environment".

But they criticised the case South Gloucestershire Council made at the planning inquiry, held in the town last autumn.

A spokesman for the group said: "At the heart of the inquiry was the question of whether the council could show that it had enough new housing in the pipeline to meet a planning test called the five-year housing supply.

"Following the inquiry, TRAPP’D have twice written to the South Glos chief executive, Dave Perry, to express our view that its team was not properly prepared to defend their case, and so it proved to be, with the Inspector discounting more than 1,100 houses from the council’s case - largely, she states, because of the lack of evidence presented to the inquiry.

Local information

South Gloucestershire Council www.southglos.gov.uk

01454 868009

Safer Stronger team sscg@southglos.gov.uk

01454 868009

Anti social behaviour team asbreporting@southglos.gov.uk

01454 868582

Streetcare/litter/vandalism etc streetcare@southglos.gov.uk

Environment/trading standards

01454 868001

Police www.avonandsomersetpolice.uk general enquiries: 101 Fire www.avonfire.gov.uk

General enquiries: 0117 926 2061

NHS Health

"We are deeply disappointed with the outcome of this case, which results in yet another major loss of green space to the builder’s bulldozer.

"It will have a detrimental effect on services and congestion, and we are furious at the council’s lack of preparation that has contributed to this outcome.

"Perhaps more worrying is the encouragement that this decision, together with a similar judgment in Old Sodbury, will give to would-be speculative developments, including Buckover, that surround Thornbury."

Call 111

Well Aware health & social care information www.wellaware.org.uk

Tel: (freephone) 0808 808 5252

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Thornbury Voice is independent. We cannot take responsibility for content or accuracy of adverts, and it is advertisers’ responsibility to conform to all relevant legislation. We cannot vouch for any services offered. Opinions are not necessarily those of the editor. Thornbury Voice is distributed each month to local residents. If for some reason you do not get a copy, please get in touch or collect one from local pick-up points. Feedback is welcomed, call Richard On 01454 800 120 or contact@thornburyvoice.co.uk

Complaints

Despite our best efforts, we sometimes get things wrong. We always try to resolve issues informally at first but we also have a formal complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about anything in the Thornbury Voice, contact the publisher using the details above. We aspire to follow the Code of Conduct of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists), which holds journalists to a high standard of behaviour. Further details of the complaints process can be found on the Voice website here, or can be obtained by contacting the Publisher.

A member of the

South Gloucestershire Council said it would review its assessment of the district's housing supply but insisted its case was sound.

A council spokesperson said: “We are naturally disappointed with the outcome of this appeal.

“A review of our approach to this appeal, which included engaging King’s Counsel legal support to lead the council’s case, has not revealed any shortcomings.

“The appeal turned on two main issues, one of which was the impact on local heritage assets, and despite a robust case being presented, the inspector’s judgement was that the scheme did not cause sufficient harm to warrant its refusal on those grounds.

"The other issue related to an assessment of the supply of new homes over the next five years. The developer argued that with regard to a number of specific sites, the council’s assessment of future delivery was over-optimistic.

"The supply of new homes - which is the hands of private developers, not the council - is dynamic, being affected by a number of factors including economic conditions, new sites coming forward during the year, and delays in delivery of sites already in the pipeline.

"After careful assessment, the inspector in the most part favoured the developer’s more cautious assessment of future delivery.

“We will be reviewing our housing supply assessment in the light of this appeal and will be publishing a revised five-year forecast in the near future."

The acting chair of the council's development management committee, Colin Hunt (Con, Emersons Green), told a meeting on February 16 that planning inspector Christina Downes' decision ignored the will of the "vast majority" of people in Thornbury.

PLANS for 595 homes on the edge of Thornbury have been approved on appeal by a planning inspector.

The government-appointed inspector concluded that the “very substantial benefits” of the new housing estate on a greenfield site west of Park Farm, Butt Lane, outweighed the harms, including to nearby listed buildings.

A seven-day public inquiry was held last year after developers Barwood Development Securities launched an appeal.

South Gloucestershire Council had failed to determine the application in time and the appeal took the decision out of its hands, but planning committee members said they would have refused permission if they still had the power to do so.

A total of 134 residents, Thornbury Town Council and Oldbury-on-Severn Parish Council objected to the outline application for the two- and three-storey houses, of which 208 or 35% will be classed as affordable.

However, planning inspector Christina Downes has now ruled in favour of Barwood and granted consent for the scheme, which includes a primary school and nursery, shops and community hub, a new bus link and open spaces including parkland, footpaths and allotments.

In her report, published on February 13, Ms Downes said: “It seems to me that the appeal proposal would offer a wide range of public benefits.

“There would be harm to the significance of a number of heritage assets by virtue of the appeal development being within their setting.

“These include the Thornbury Castle assemblage, the church of St Mary the Virgin, the Sheiling School and Thornbury Conservation Area.

“The church and parts of the castle are Grade I heritage assets, which are considered to be of exceptional interest and rarity.

“However, there would be a package of public benefits to which I have attributed very substantial weight.

“In my judgement it would clearly outweigh the harm that would arise to the significance of the heritage assets.”