Update 12 March 2023
Friday Was the last day of the Inquiry to Decide the outline planning permission at Brislington Meadows
The Inspector undertook a site visit with representatives form Homes England the council and us the Rule 6 party to inspect the site and ask questions on details raised in the Inquiry proceedings
He has now retired to consider all the points raised write up his findings and announce his decision
he told us that he expects to release his report by the end of April as soon as we know the outcome we will let you all know here
it’s a very detailed process to give you an idea of what to expect here is a recent Inquiry report where this inspector found against the appeal and refused planning permission
lets all hope that we get the same outcome …..
the inquiry Page has all the documentation and statements made to the inspector which he will be considering in his summing up – theres a huge amount which explains why it takes so long for him to write up his report
https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/planning-and-building-regulations/public-inquiry-for-land-at-broom-hill-brislington-meadows-about-the-inquiry
Example Appeal report
Please submit your Objections via the online (Planning Portal) or By Letter we have provided guidance below on how to do either though the planning portal is simple and safer as you don’t run the risk of your Objection arriving too late to count
Please also read our Six reasons to complain for inspiration but feel free to use your own words and reasons too !
- Closing date is November 28th 2022 11:59pm
Six reasons to object
- Flood Risk
All flood mitigation flows out to the Culvert in victory Park. This is already prone to flooding over school Rd and Down Jean Rd into Brislington Brook which is Identified Nationally as ” at Risk” of flooding a mistake here could subject hundreds of home in the valley to increased flood risk the 1968 Floods were caused by one big summer storm and with climate change such freak events are becoming more common - Ecology why approve development on an SNCI were other Brownfield sites are readily available
No baseline assessment in the plan to judge ecological impact,
Ancient meadow land with protected species Badgers Bats Slow ‘Works and bluebells are identified in the ecology report plus countless other species and rare grassland habitat please talk of what you see 🙂 Ecological Emergeny
- Traffic
broom hill road is extremely busy and already gets congested by MacDonald’s queuing onto the A4 Bath Rd and the mini roundabout at the top of school Rd traveling into Brislington 260 Homes leading form a cul-de-sac into Broomhill Rd can ONLY make this worse -Traffic Surveys were done during lockdown/taken from 2011 DATA the transport plan was written before the changes to local bus services earlier in the year and the latest bus cancellations - Heritage – Ancient Meadowland hedgerows date back to 1780 or before possible site of Roman Glassworks – plan has insufficient information to assess impact of development on this site
- Bomb Risk
the site was bombed heavily during the war and is classed as “high Risk ” this bomb was dropped on Exeter only a few weeks after Brislington was bombed https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-56236381 this could happen on the meadows - Need for Housing
Too few affordable homes. many other brownfields sites are being developed with more than 13000 homes in south Bristol planned or in planning https://greaterbrislington.org/development-in-brislington/ will these 260 REALLY make a difference
Please Please… Make an Objection while there’s still time !!
Help Save Brislington Meadows – the planning application to build 260 Houses on top of our meadows is under appeal by Homes England – Objections can now be submitted as soon as possible, either online, by email, or By post
Our handy guide here will help you with ideas and guidance for your objection
How to Make an Objection:
Using the Planning Portal
https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?CaseID=3308537&CoID=0
- Click on: Make Representation
- save and continue
- then – Enter your details (
- save and continue
- choose whether you are acting as an individual ( choose no) or an organisation ( choose yes and give the name of the organisation see blue arrow below)
- then tick the box to be able to type an entry (1)
- and / or tick separate documents if you want to add prepared documents / images etc
You will need to give your objection / reasons relevant to the council granting for refusing planning permission. See our Six Reasons guide – below
- tick the “I confirm..” box and hit submit to complete your Objection 🙂
Object By Post
please write to The Planning Inspectorate, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN
quoting reference number APP/Z0116/W/22/3308537.
- include your name and address
- letters must include the planning Application Reference Number 3308537 and 3 copies must be supplied
- Closing date is November 18th 2022 11:59pm so please consider Either hand Delivery or use Frist class registered post
| Avon Wildlife Trust – Comments for Planning Application 22/01878/P |
Avon Wildlife Trust opposes the proposals to develop Brislington Meadows for housing.
We are facing an ecological emergency at a local, national and global level and urgent action is needed to protect and restore the habitats and natural systems on which wildlife and people depend. The first step in reversing wildlife declines is stopping destruction of remaining habitats.
Avon Wildlife Trust recognises the balance that the Council is trying to strike in tackling the ecological emergency, the climate emergency and local crises in housing, poverty, heating and hunger, all at the same time. We do not oppose all housing development in the city, but seek to ensure that where development does happen, nature is fully taken into account, with habitats integrated into high quality design or created elsewhere to deliver an overall gain for nature.
There are though sites in the city that are so important for nature that they should not be developed. We believe that Brislington Meadows is one of these.
Brislington Meadows is important for a number of reasons:
– it is a valuable habitat for wildlife designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance for its rich grassland habitats,
– it gives local people access to nature,
– it provides key “ecosystem services”, reducing flooding and supporting water quality in Brislington Brook (which rises on the site) and downstream in the River Avon and Bristol City Centre as recognised in the West of England Nature Partnership’s State of Environment mapping
We do not believe that it will be possible to maintain the ecological value of Brislington Meadows, whilst developing the site for housing. Brislington Meadows should continue to be recognised as a valuable local wildlife site and protected from development.
If development does go ahead despite our objections, measures must be put in place to reduce impacts on habitats and ecosystems as far as possible, through site layout and design, and through the creation and enhancement of large areas of habitat onsite and in the local area which maintain the ecosystem services provided by the Meadows and provide significantly greater value for wildlife, in line with the Government’s policies on biodiversity net gain.
CPRE – Comments for Planning Application 22/01878/P
OBJECTION TO PROPOSED BRISLINGTON MEADOWS DEVELOPMENT
Brislington Conservation and History Society wishes to object in the strongest terms to the proposed housing development of the Brislington Meadows site, comprising fields at Broomhill and surrounding Victory Park. The development would have a major detrimental effect on the park
itself and the loss of the Meadows site would be a great historical loss to Brislington, as well as the loss of a green open space used by generations of local residents for dog walking, farming, and general outdoor recreation, significantly in more recent times for it’s beneficial effect for those suffering from mental health issues.
The site has been traced from use as a glass industry in Roman times, to farming in the 18th and 19th centuries, and as recreational use in the 20th and 21st centuries. Brislington has lost so much of it’s historical sites since modern development began in the 1880s. The loss of historic buildings due to Blitz damage in the Second World War, and also thoughtless and ill advised planning developments over decades, notably the 1960s, have seen Brislington be all but destroyed from the time when it was referred to as “the prettiest village in Somerset” in about As an area ( and former North Somerset village until being brought into the Bristol boundary in 1933) Brislington is very lucky in having an unique collection of drawings of Brislington in the 1820s , commissioned by local landowner and resident , George Weare Braikenridge ( 1775 – 1856), the majority of which are now owned by Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.
All though there are bound to be changes over hundreds of years, Brislington has had more than
it’s fair share of negative development ,loosing both buildings of historical significance and also loss of green open space. Brislington Meadows is the last remaining area of common land in an area which has lost so much. It’s rural atmosphere within the city of Bristol is unique and would be
a great loss to residents and visitors alike.
In 1830 the historian and antiquarian , Joseph Hunter ( 1783 -1861) referred to Brislington as ‘the favourite retreat of Bristol merchants when got up in the world”. Nearly two hundred years later the destruction of the Brislington Meadows would be the last nail in the coffin for an area
which can ill afford to loose any more of it’s green open space and beneficial rural atmosphere it was once famous for.
Jonathan Rowe ( Chair, Brislington Conservation and History Society )
RSPB Bristol Local Group
The RSPB Bristol Local Group opposes the development of Brislington Meadows. Approving a planning application which seeks to build over a site designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest would set an unwelcome precedent. Brislington Meadows was awarded this status in recognition of its containing a rich and wide variety of habitats, veteran trees and wildlife species (including records of several red list species), and scores noticeably highly for its ‘irreplaceability’. Having visited the site ourselves for a wildlife survey in August, it’s difficult to fathom how the proposed efforts to mitigate the environmental impact of 260 new homes could make up for the loss of these habitats. In addition, there are fears that the local infrastructure needed to support additional residents in Brislington is lacking, both in terms of transport and local services such as schools and health clinics. Bristol needs more homes, but there are more suitable places to put them. In 2020, Bristol City Council itself declared an ecological emergency in recognition of the fact that myriad bird, mammal and insect species are in decline locally, a measure that received broad local support. Approving plans to develop an SNCI would contravene this declaration and erode trust between central government and the local community. Homes England have already somewhat eroded this trust, by falsely claiming that the site had been deregistered as an SNCI, and this has further fuelled an already largely negative feeling towards the plans from Brislington residents and their neighbours, as evidenced in the comments written in objection to the plans. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of Brislington Meadows to the local populace, whether viewed as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life, or as a vital corridor for wildlife, linking Eastwood Farm and the river Avon to the south of the city. The context of Britain having lost 97% of its wildflower meadows since the Second World War should also be taken into consideration. As has already been pointed out by the Mayor, local media and in the written objections, Bristol isn’t short of brownfield sites and empty housing stock. To favour new builds that begin to eat into the remaining 3% of our wildflower meadows appears nonsensical at best, and would contradict the government’s own claims to be taking the climate crisis seriously. We urge the Planning Inspectorate to respect the notion of local autonomy, act in favour of the environment, and reject this application. Sincerely, The RSPB Bristol Local Group https://linktr.ee/rspb_bristol?
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