Finch Road - consultation on waiting and stopping restrictions

In the light of the traffic problems around Raysfield School, which have not been helped by the proposal to redevelop the Tern Inn and the Heron Way Shops car park - now gated off by the owner - South Glos Council has launched two consultations:

FINCH ROAD and HERON WAY - Proposed No Waiting at any Time - Raysfield School Area - STATUTORY NOTICE

See https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/PT.5732RaysfieldWaitingRest/consultationHome

CHIPPING SODBURY - FINCH ROAD - Protection of School Entrances - No Stopping Order - Raysfield School Area - STATUTORY NOTICE

See https://consultations.southglos.gov.uk/consult.ti/PT.5733RaysfieldNoStopping/consultationHome

The proposals are partly to make existing "no parking" lines legally enforceable.

The consultations run until 16 November.

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.

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.

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.

Tern Inn car park gated off

Contractors moved in today to erect gates across the Tern Inn car park. The landowners, who have applied to build flats there, appear determined to prevent public parking, even for customers of the pub and the Heron Way shops. The businesses will have access for delivery etc, but that's all.

Dodington Parish Council contacted the schools to warn the parents, as the traffic on Heron Way is likely to get significantly worse, with consequent danger to children. They have also asked South Glos to investigate the gates as a possible planning enforcement issue.

The developers' is possibly a response to the recent successful application for listing as a Asset of Community Value.

Tern Inn now officially an "Asset of Community Value"

 The Tern Inn on Heron Way and the associated car park, the subject of a planning application to demolish the pub and build 28 flats on the site, has now been declared an "Asset of Community Value".

Dodington Parish Council and the Birds Residents Group applied for the ACV status so that if the landowner decides to sell, the community will have six months to put a bid together.

The ACV will be recorded at the Land Registry, but the landowner can appeal against the ACV decision.

Tern Inn and car park under threat from development

Around 100 local residents came to Dodington
Parish Council's meeting on 2 November
to protest against the development

A developer has put in a planning application to demolish the Tern Inn at Heron Way and build 28 flats on the site, including the car park which is heavily used by parents at Raysfield School and customers of the Heron Way shops.

Local residents have organised a petition against the proposal and will be meeting at 7pm next Wednesday (9 November) to discuss their next steps. They have also set up a Save the Tern Inn Facebook Page. There is also a Facebook group "The Birds Residents Group" that you have to request to join.

Dodington Parish Council is researching the proposal and the background and looking at how best to represent residents' views, but it is South Glos Council that will approve or refuse the plans.

If you have views on the development, please please make comments on the South Glos Council planning application page. You can read the proposal and see other people's comments here (the plans are towards the bottom of the list) and then press the Make a Comment button on the same page to make your own views know. You have until 15 November to do this (NOT 18 Nov as we said earlier), but we suggest that you do it soon in case you forget! If you think of something extra later, you can always make another comment before the 15th.

Different people will have different priorities - maybe you're a local resident, a user of the pub, a school parent or staff member, a customer of the shops, or several of these. Here are a few things you might like to consider. Please feel free to use these ideas, but it's best if you put your views in your own words rather than copying and pasting - South Glos councillors and officers will take more notice of them.

TRAFFIC AND PARKING

• The private car park has for many years been used by parents at school drop-off and pick-up times to avoid parking on the very congested Heron Way.
• This development would displace many more cars onto Heron Way, which is already curved and narrow.
• The result would be increased dangers on this popular Route To School.
• The planning application should not be determined solely on the extra parking required by the proposed flats, but should take into account the traffic and parking displaced by the proposal.
• A detailed traffic survey needs to be undertaken at 0830-0930 and 1500-1545 on school days (these extended periods cover the Pre-School as well as the Primary School)The parking shown allocates 8 visitor spaces for the new flats, but no spaces for the existing shop units and maisonettes
• (edited 04/11/2016) The parking shown allocates 8 visitor spaces for the new flats, but no spaces at all for the existing shop units and maisonettes.
• (added 04/11/2016) The Design and Access Statement says “if at all possible, the Local Authority suggested a potential planning benefit to serve the existing shops and assist with community concerns to demonstrate 6 parking spaces allocated for community use” – Does this mean they would want to put another road access onto the space in front of the shops, which they also own? 

DESIGN

• The high density and low parking provision is very reminiscent of the nearby Normandy Drive development that has caused so many problems with vehicular access.
• When Normandy Drive was constructed it was based on ill-founded Government parking limits that have since been withdrawn. What are the current South Gloucestershire requirements?
• Even considering the meagre parking proposed for the new flats, many of their occupants will park out on Heron Way, causing traffic holdups and increased danger.

JUSTIFICATION

• The Design and Access Statement refers to the Draft DPD's Chipping Sodbury Town Centre Summary, which is not relevant. This site is not part of the Chipping Sodbury Town Centre area, as would have been obvious if the designers had consulted the map on page 17 of the document they are quoting (http://www.southglos.gov.uk//documents/3-Chipping-Sodbury-@-May-2015.pdf)
• Moreover the 1-2 bedroom homes in that Town Centre were an aspiration of Chipping Sodbury Town Council, but this site is part of Dodington Parish not Sodbury.

EFFECT ON EXISTING BUSINESSES AND DWELLINGS

• Pub: As many of the comments on the Planning Application say, this is not a “former pub” (as the developers originally claimed) but an active business and community hub, even though the site owners would like to see it run down. The community would rather see investment in the pub to make it more viable.
• Shops: The shop units have recently been considerably improved and are developing into thriving businesses. The proposals would take away the parking that they need to survive, and the rank of shops would soon deteriorate again. In addition there seems to be no provision for waste storage or collection from the shops.
• Maisonettes: Existing residents would lose their parking and again be displaced onto Heron Way.

PLANNING HISTORY

• The proposals would not only remove the main car park, they also use the service yard at the back of the shops and maisonettes.
• What were the requirements of the original planning permission for the shops and maisonettes? Do the present proposals infringe parking that was required at the time?

Heron's ideas for North Yate on show Friday and Saturday

Heron is putting on an exhibition of their latest proposals for North Yate over the next couple of days. The exhibition will display a masterplan as well as further details on key issues raised during the first consultation. The sessions are as follows:

Friday 17 June 2011 2pm - 8pm
Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC), Broad Lane, Yate

Saturday 18 June 2011 10am - 4pm
Yate Library, 44 West Walk, Yate

If you are unable to visit the exhibition, you will be able to view the exhibition material in full on Heron's project website from 20 June 2011. An online comments form will also be available.

Please note that this is a developer's exhibition rather than an official council consultation, but please take a look even if you think the development isn't desirable - it'll give you an idea of Heron's current thinking.

Heron North Yate exhibition - a report back

In case you didn't get to Heron's exhibition at YOSC or Yate Library, it was a pretty good briefing about the issues for the site, and it was good to see them making an early engagement with local people.

Some visitors were surprised by the scale of the development and how much has to go in the area. There will no doubt be pressure for the land least suitable for building to be designated as the Public Open Space allowance for the development, but local councillors are determined that the wettest areas should not be counted as part of this allocation because they wouldn't provide suitable space for recreation.


The Gazette reports that several hundred people visited the exhibition. Heron will now take feedback into account in developing an outline planning application, expected to be submitted in late summer or early autumn. More details area available from Heron at www.heron-northyate.info

Heron's vision for North Yate development to go on display

Heron Land Developments has announced the dates of two drop-in days, when people can view proposals for a new neighbourhood in North Yate.

The area was identified for 3000 homes in South Glos's draft Core Strategy to meet the previous government's housing targets. Although planning authorities have been allowed to assess housing need themselves since the General Election, the current South Glos administration has decided to retain the 3000, despite local opposition.

Heron owns most of the land north of Brimsham Park and would be the lead developer, responsible for the infrastructure for the new neighbourhood. This exhibition is not part of the formal planning process, but it demonstrates that Heron are prepared to engage with the local community, and hopefully to listen to what local people tell them.

Based on feedback from these sessions, Heron will draw up a draft masterplan for the site for a second round of public consultation, then submit an outline planning application in the summer. Building would take place between 2013 and 2026.

The public exhibitions are on Friday March 11 from 2pm to 8pm at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex, and on Saturday, March 12 from 10am to 4pm at Yate Library.
Further information about the public consultation and proposals can be found at www.heron-northyate.info

More details from the Gazette here