Tern Inn appeal withdrawn - but what next?

Focus Team members Tony Davis, Louise Harris
and Paul Hulbert at the Tern Inn

Great news - the developers have withdrawn their appeal, so their plan to demolish the Tern Inn pub and build flats right across the car park is now dead in the water.

But does this mean that we've won? Not necessarily. It just means that the developers reckon that they have no chance of getting their CURRENT plan approved.

They might submit a slightly revised planning application, so that the whole process has to start again. They might "land bank" the site for a few years and see what the economic situation is like then. Or they might even be willing to sell the site to the community or a brewery.

So we need to wait and watch to see what the developers do next. Whatever happens, the Focus Team will continue to support all the hard work being put in by the Birds Resident Group and Dodington Parish Council on behalf of our community.

If you're on Facebook you can follow the Birds Resident Group here.

Tern Inn - date set for Planning Inquiry - UPDATED

Many thanks to everyone who helped with the Heron Way traffic count (and kept us topped up with tea and coffee!)

This information is being analysed at the moment and will be passed on to the Government's Planning Inspector who is considering the plan to replace the pub and the car park with flats, with all the traffic chaos that will bring.

The Planning Enquiry will have a public hearing - it won't just be done on documents.

UPDATE: The hearing has been delayed, and we expect the hearing to be held at a local venue around 20th November. As a result the date for comments has been extended to the 31st July 2018.

You can submit any other (factual) comments of your own between now and Tuesday 31 July 2018 at the Planning Inspectorate website - please note that this will be offline between 9pm and midnight on Wed 13 June.

You can follow the Save The Tern Inn Facebook page here

Tern Inn - please help with traffic count

Dodington Parish Council, in partnership with the Birds Resident Group, is organising a traffic count on Heron Way to help the case opposing flats being built on the Tern Inn and car park site. This would be presented as evidence for the planning enquiry that will be held in the next few months.

The count will take place over the week commencing next Monday, 4th June (Yes, we know that next week includes an Inset Day and the School Sports Day etc - this will give us a week with varying activities so that we have a realistic picture of traffic patterns on the road)

Community volunteers are needed to help with the traffic count. If you follow the Birds Resident Group on Facebook you can contact them there, or you can email Dodington Parish Council on dodingtonpc@southglos.gov.uk

The survey will just count the number and types of vehicle (car, bus etc) - it won't be checking traffic speeds, and traffic won't be held up at all. Please just use the road as you normally would.

Update: Because we already have some data from South Glos, we just need to do a count on one day at peak times. The count will be this Wednesday (6 June) but you may see photos being taken at other times during the week.

Reminder - have your say on Local Plan

Don't forget you only have until 30th April to have your say on South Gloucestershire Council's new Local Plan at www.southglos.gov.uk/newlocalplanfeb2018.

This is your chance to have your say on how up to 1,800 extra homes can be delivered in smaller developments in our rural areas. This is in addition to the thousands of new homes already proposed in large developments at Coalpit Heath, west and north west of Yate in Westerleigh and Iron Acton Parishes, Charfield, Thornbury and Buckover.

Magistrates Court - housing proposed for key Yate town centre site

Local councillors at the Magistrates Court site

South Glos Council is currently considering a planning application for up to 50 houses on the old Magistrates Court site off Kennedy Way. However the site access would be from Stanshawe Crescent.

There is very little available space anywhere near the town centre now. Yate Town Council has objected to the proposal, suggesting that it would be better to have a town centre use here, and put new residential units on brownfield sites in less critical locations instead.

With all the thousands of extra houses already proposed for Yate, perhaps the building could be converted as a new police station? Or will our police still have to operate out of the antiquated building in Chipping Sodbury?

Even supposing the housing goes ahead, Stanshawe Crescent is narrow, lacks a pavement along one side, and is already congested and dangerous. There is no more room for on street parking there.

The open space between the magistrates court and the current residential area is a vital buffer between the town centre and the Stanshawe Crescent community, and should be retained, together with all the trees.

You can find details of the proposals here or by searching for "Magistrates" on the South Glos planning application web page. You can submit comments until Monday 19 March.

Homes England - effectively a government department - has also given notice that they intend to demolish the Magistrates Court building anyway (details here) with a very short consultation period - you may remember a private firm doing the same thing recently at the Railway Inn site. Yate Town Council has objected to demolition because it prematurely removes a community asset.


We understand that South Glos has decided to deal with the application to demolish the magistrates court building in secret, not in open session in a meeting. Why? What's so special about this site, except that it's Government land? Has the decision in effect already been made?

Have your say on new South Glos Local Plan

South Gloucestershire Council has started a consultation on the new Local Plan, which will set out how the development proposed in the Joint Spatial Plan for the West of England will be delivered in South Gloucestershire. The consultation will run until 30th April and documents are available to view on the Council’s website at www.southglos.gov.uk/newlocalplanfeb2018.

A hard copy of the consultation document is available to view from 8.45am - 5pm Mondays to Wednesdays and 8.45am - 4.30pm Thursdays and Fridays, at the Council’s One-Stop Shops, which are located at:

• Patchway One Stop Shop, The Patchway Hub, Rodway Road, Patchway BS34 5PE
• Kingswood One Stop Shop, Civic Centre, High Street, Kingswood BS15 9TR
• Yate One Stop Shop (access via West Walk), Kennedy Way, Yate BS37 4DQ

There will also be public drop-in events. The nearest to us is 6-8pm on Tuesday 20 March at the Ridgewood Community Centre, Yate (BS37 4AF). Details of all the events are available at www.southglos.gov.uk/newlocalplanfeb2018.

Part 2 of the document introduces the proposed strategy for delivering the development:

• building out the developments already allocated in the council's Core Strategy
• maximising the use of brownfield land within the urban areas
• building the 5 large scale Strategic Development Locations set out in the Joint Spatial Plan for the West of England (Coalpit Heath, North West and West of Yate, Thornbury, Buckover and Charfield)
• smaller scale development in the rural areas. 

Yate is one of the areas being looked at for maximising the use of brownfield land in urban areas and the question about how to approach development in the rural areas affects all our villages. The consultation document also sets out what is happening with the Strategic Development Locations and how the local communities will be involved further but does not ask specific questions around those.

The council would prefer you to use the response form available online to make comments. If you are unable to do so, you can submit comments by email to PlanningPolicy@southglos.gov.uk or by post. There is no need to submit comments in multiple different ways.

Houses proposed on land set aside for health facility at Frenchay

Your Focus Team was shocked to learn that North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) have given the nod to developer Redrow to put in a planning application on land previously set aside for new health facilities at the former Frenchay Hospital site.

Back in November we were told that the future requirements for community health and care facilities at Frenchay and Thornbury were going back to the drawing board. We know now that, by that time, NBT were already in talks with Redrow about developing housing across much of the Frenchay site.

We think it is outrageous that the NBT are considering allowing houses to be built on land that was supposed to be used for community health facilities before they’ve worked out how they are going to provide those facilities. It's a sad reflection on Government underfunding of our local NHS that they feel under pressure to do this.

Brimsham development update - ammunition for comments on planning applications

As we told you earlier this week, residents only have until 28 December to put in their comments about the Brimsham development proposals.

Yate Town Council has now lodged a very detailed objection to these planning applications. It shows up the many deficiencies in the design. It may give you ideas for your own comments on applications - you can download the Yate Town Council objections here.

Christmas comes early - Cambrian Drive land saved

We are delighted to let you know that on 20th December Yate Town Council purchased the land behind Cambrian Drive from the developers. We have got conditions on it that mean it will never be built on. This is the land that is currently very overgrown, that developers kept trying to get consent to build on.

After the developers' last, failed attempt, as councillors we set about trying to buy it (thank you to the resident who suggested it). It has taken many months of negotiation, but this week the Town Council took ownership - for £35,000, which is much less than it would have cost if the planning application had gone through.

Cllrs Karl Tomasin and Chris Willmore signing the purchase documents

Thank you to every resident who helped the Liberal Democrat Focus Team fight all the planning applications, putting in objections and backing us. Without all that work the developers might have got consent - and they certainly would not have sold it to us for that sum.

We're delivering a special edition of Focus around the local area, but you can also download the Cambrian Drive Focus Special here.

Yate Town Council staff have already started clearing up the site

Brimsham Park - last chance to have your say on new houses

Barretts and David Wilson Homes plan to start building in the spring right behind existing houses.
So this is now REAL.

They got outline consent two years ago. We all opposed that as residents and councillors. Butnow this is about trying to make sure the new housing does as little damage as possible to our community. We’ve already given the developers a list of problems we could spot. Now we needyour help in looking at the plans carefully and pointing out the problems YOU can see, to help us try to get the developers/planners to change the plans.

Key features of what the developers want to do include
● their main site compound for up to 10 - 15 years to be in the field at the current end of Randolph Avenue, Close to the back of Pear Tree Hey. (Left hand arrow)
● Access to the show homes, and at least the first 238 houses from Leechpool Way (right arrow)
● The first 238 houses to be immediately behind Pear Tree Hey, Dryleaze and Meadowmead. (Circle on the plan)
● 35% ’Affordable’ housing (but that is not what we would call affordable for young families trying to buy their first home, although it will include social rented housing)
● Terraces of housing backing onto existing housing.
● Houses will block the current footpath through the fields from Randolph to the Park.
● A new northern access to the park, right at the narrowest part of the park, just north of the lake.
● Two new small play areas, one in the field behind Meadow Mead.
● No proposals (yet) for wheelwashing.

Don't wait until after the Christmas break to comment - that could be too late. The legal deadline for comments is before the end of the holidays. So we need to act NOW as residents.

The developers have said they are going to deliver a letter to some homes telling them about the application - make sure that you don’t only tell them what you think. Put your comments in to the planners who actually take the decision.

Go to South Glos Council's planning applications page then search for two applications:
PK17/5388/RM (David Wilson Homes, comments close on 29 Dec) and  
PK17/5389/RM (Barratt Homes, comments close on 28 Dec). Please comment on both.

Please let your Focus Team know your comments too - email Mike Drew on mike.drew@southglos.gov.uk

There are more details on a special Brimsham Park Focus that is being delivered at the moment. If you haven't received your copy yet, you can view or download it from here

Update 22/12/2017: Yate Town Council has lodged a very detailed objection to these planning applications. It shows up the many deficiencies in the design. It may give you ideas for your comments on applications - you can download the Yate Town Council objections here.

Tern Inn redevelopment - appeal submitted

The owner of the Tern Inn and car park in Heron Way has submitted an appeal against being refused planning permission to rebuild the pub and car park as flats.

Some outline documents are on the South Glos Planning Website but the Planning Inspectorate will not consider the appeal until the developer has provided some missing documents. It's not yet visible on the Planning Inspectorate's own "Appeals Portal" but when it does, it will be under Case ID 3190390.

For the back story of this proposal, which has been strongly opposed by local residents and Dodington Parish Council, please check out our previous Tern Inn stories.

Speaking out on housing plans

Last Monday plans for 2,600 homes at Yate and Chipping Sodbury and 1,800 at Coalpit Heath were discussed by the West of England Joint Committee in Bath. Local councillors Claire Young and Pat Hockey attended, with Claire speaking out on the plans. Despite the concerns raised, and despite both the Leader of North Somerset and the Mayor of Bristol saying they hadn't had time to read the document, the West of England leaders voted to recommend the Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) to the four councils.

The BBC asked if anyone would be available for filming the next day in Coalpit Heath. They were expecting one or two people and were astonished by the crowd that turned out at such short notice. They were left in no doubt about the level of concern and while they were there also filmed the danger signs around the old mine shaft that has been fenced off in the corner of the field.

The Joint Spatial Plan will be considered by the South Glos Cabinet at 2pm today and then by all councillors at a meeting at 7pm on Wednesday 8th November in Kingswood Civic Centre. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

If South Glos and the other three councils all approve the JSP for consultation, you will be able to have your say from 22nd November to 10th January. We'll give you more information on how to do this when the consultation starts. 

Tern Inn - Birds Resident Group meeting 16th October

There will be a public meeting of the Birds Resident Group on 16th October.

The local community have been campaigning tirelessly for a year now to try to stop unwanted development of the Tern Inn and car park site. A planning application for this site requesting 26 new flats was turned down by South Gloucestershire Council earlier this year.

Although the pub closed in June of this year due to the developer not offering a lease renewal, this is not the end of the matter and residents and councillors have continued to work behind the scenes. This meeting is a chance to find out more about the current position in respect of the planning application/appeal, and how matters may progress in the coming months.

This is a vital opportunity to ask any questions you may have, and to make sure that the campaign is aware of the community’s wishes.

The public meeting will be held at 8pm on Monday 16th October at Dodington Parish Hall (Finch Road). This meeting is being held jointly by the Birds Resident Group and Dodington Parish Council.

Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you there.

Housing plans - dates for your diary

Last year, the West of England consulted on a Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) proposing:

• 1,500 new homes at Coalpit Heath
• 2,600 around Yate and Chipping Sodbury
• 1,000 homes at Charfield
• 600 homes at Thornbury
• 2,200 homes at a new garden village at Buckover near Thornbury

The next round of consultation will take place in the autumn and judging from where they're holding the drop-in events, they are pressing ahead with these locations. The full list of drop-in events is:

• Charfield Event – Charfield Memorial Hall - Wednesday 20th Sept 2 – 8pm
• Coalpit Heath Event – Coalpit Heath Village Hall/Miners InstituteFriday 22nd Sept – 2 – 8pm
• Thornbury Event – Armstrong Hall –Friday 29th Sept – 2 – 8pm
• Yate Event – Sodbury Town Hall – Wednesday 4th October - 2 – 8pm
• Buckover Event – Falfield Village Hall – Friday 6th Oct – 2 – 8pm

Tern Inn planning application refused

The planning application to demolish the Tern Inn and build flats on the site and the adjacent car park has just been REFUSED. This very popular local pub and live music venue and the car park were recently classed as "Assets of Community Value" (ACVs). The pub was forced to close on 11 June because the owner refused to renew the lease, and the property has since been boarded up.

The key reasons for refusal were:

• Taking away the pub and the car park would have a very negative impact on the Heron Way Local Centre
• The proposal would remove the pub, listed as an ACV, without an alternative within 800 metres, which is against South Glos planning policy
• It would also mean the loss of the Local Centre Car Park, also an ACV, without any alternative
• The scheme would not have enough parking and delivery space, and it would push vehicles out onto the main road. The overall effect has been classed as "severe" and "detrimental to the travelling public"

The full decision notice can be seen here

So what might happen now? There are three possibilities:

• The landowner could appeal against the decision - this is the most likely. In that case the Government will appoint an independent inspector who would hold a hearing locally.
• The owner might submit a different scheme, and the planning process would start all over again
• The owner might concede defeat and consider negotiating with other interested parties

This is one small step towards getting the pub and the car park back, but nothing is guaranteed. Local people and Dodington Parish Council, who have supported the campaign all the way, will need to keep up the community pressure.

You can find the Birds Resident Group on Facebook.

Retirement flats proposed for green space in densely packed development

Councillors and residents at Normandy Drive

A development company has announced plans to build upmarket retirement flats on land at Normandy Drive, Yate, that was previously promised as community space.

Churchill Retirement Living has announced the proposals, claiming the development would meet an “urgent need” for elderly housing.

But residents who bought their homes from previous landowner Taylor Wimpey say they were told that the land would be kept for community use.

The only community space on the densely-packed development is a small nature reserve area on land that was unsuitable for building anyway, and there is no provision for children to play safely. Elswick Park is also one of the most congested areas in Yate for parking.

Local councillors are opposed to the proposals.

“We have fought hard to stop this land being built over completely, it was meant to be used by the community. There has been no discussion with local councillors about these latest plans” said Cllr Ruth Davis. 

Tern Inn - flats recommended for refusal

The Planning Officer has now compiled his very detailed report on the proposed flats development on the site of the Tern Inn and car park at Heron Way. In summary, the report recommends refusal because of:

• The effect on the Heron Way shops
• The loss of the Tern Inn, which is listed as an Asset of Community Value
• The loss of the car park, which is also listed as an Asset of Community Value
• The added on-street congestion and effect on visibility 

As well as the petitions against the development, there were 309 objections to the scheme but only 3 people who wrote in to support it. There were strong objections from Dodington Parish Council, Yate Town Council, Cllr Claire Young and Luke Hall MP, plus of course the Birds Resident Group.

The report will now go to South Gloucestershire Council to decide whether to allow or refuse the planning application.

If the application is refused, the developer can appeal to a government inspector. Alternatively they might put in a different planning application for the same site.

We'll keep you posted with any news.

Update - South Glos Council refused the planning application but the owner is likely to appeal.

Developer consults on housing at Trinity Lane, off St John's Way

Developer Cotswold Homes is asking for local people's views on a proposed housing development at Trinity Lane, off St John's Way, Chipping Sodbury (Trinity Lane is the road that goes up to the golf course)

They describe their scheme like this: "A total of 60 dwellings is proposed in a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced housing; a small number of flats and bungalows are also proposed to address local housing needs for smaller affordable, and accessible lifetime home properties"

The sorts of questions they are asking are:

• Do you consider that open market and affordable housing are required in this location?
• What types of affordable housing are most needed in the area (i.e. rented or shared ownership, family housing or flats)?
• Are there any infrastructure constraints in Chipping Sodbury or wider area that the proposals should be looking to help address?
• What recreational facilities do you think would be most appropriately incorporated into the area of public open space that the development will provide (for example play area, trim trail, ecological areas, pond etc.)?
• Having reviewed the draft plans for the site do you have any comments on the emerging layout?
• Do you have any suggestions with regards to the appearance of the housing put forward?
• Would you suggest a contemporary or traditional design approach in respect to the appearance of the new dwellings?
• Would you suggest any changes to improve the proposals?

It's a good idea for developers to carry out early consultations with the public like this, but note that this is not an official consultation - they intend to apply for planning permission during the summer. If you answer their questionnaire, please bear in mind that they are assembling evidence to make their planning application more likely to be successful.

The consultation website can be found here.

Tern Inn - have your say again

It's time to have your say - again - on the latest ideas for the Tern Inn and car park. The developers still want to build flats on the whole site, but now they are offering a community cafe as an alternative to the pub.

The cafe idea is sketchy, to say the least. It would not provide the community functions that the Tern Inn currently hosts. No evidence is provided that such a cafe would be viable, and there is no analysis of how the various activities currently hosted by the pub could realistically be run in a cafe setting.

We suspect that the cafe proposal is set up to fail, and if it is allowed we speculate that there would be a later proposal to turn the cafe back into residential dwellings.

We still think that the entire proposal should be rejected, and that the site should be maintained as it is currently used - the pub and the associated car park.

Over to you now - what do YOU think? Please submit your comments, even if you've already commented on the origina; plans. You can do this online here - search for Heron Way. Click on the top result - the one that says 28 flats - then click on the "Make a Comment" button. You can read what other people have said by clicking on the Documents tab.

Time running out to have your say on basis for Local Plan

You only have until this Thursday, 23 February, to have your say on the South Glos Local Plan Prospectus.

As we reported last month, South Glos has to publish a new Local Plan for 2018-2036. One of the things it will do is allocate specific sites for development - so, for example, if the final Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) for the West of England says there should be another 2,600 homes around yate and Chipping Sodbury, this plan will say more precisely where they should be built. It will also allocate smaller sites, to go towards whatever figure the JSP says South Glos must provide outside the large sites.

Work on the new Local Plan is just starting and the council is asking for your views on what it should cover and what the vision and priorities should be for our area. What do you think the vision and priorities should be? How would you balance concerns like protecting community identity and our countryside with the need for housing?  You can let the council know what you think by answering questions 2 and 3 of the consultation.