The start of work on the site of a new McCarthy & Stone development in Savages Wood Road, Bradley Stoke, is likely to lead to a clampdown on unauthorised parking in the adjacent Three Brooks pub, The Journal has learned.
The developer intends to build 50 private retirement apartments and 24 social housing units on the site and is currently awaiting final approval from South Gloucestershire Council.
Contractors began fencing off the site on 10th October, an action that has seen about one third of the car park at the Three Brooks become incorporated into the McCarthy & Stone plot, in accordance with published plans.
Stephen Williams, manager of the Three Brooks, told The Journal that the loss of 32 parking spaces would not pose a problem for his business, provided no “non customers” used the car park.
He added that the pub is working towards “having solutions in place” to deal with unauthorised users of the car park, said to include Tesco staff, shoppers visiting the Willow Brook Centre and parents picking up children from the nearby Meadowbrook Primary School.
Mr Williams, who has managed the pub for two years, said he was unaware of any agreement with the school that permitted parents to use the pub car park. The afternoon pick up time around 3:30pm might become an issue now that the car park size had been reduced in size, he added.
A spokesperson for McCarthy and Stone confirmed that preparatory work/investigations had begun on the Savages Wood Road site and that it was hoped that the project would be “commenced later this year”.
The build programme will take 12-13 months and the first sales are therefore likely to be completed in early 2013, the spokesperson added.
The development is already featured on a dedicated page of the McCarthy and Stone website: New retirement apartments planned for sale in Bradley Stoke, Bristol. [Ed: Incorrect information on the website, such as a statement that the Willow Brook Centre houses a doctors’ surgery and the suggestion that “Bristol Filton Airport” provides commercial services to the general public has been drawn to the attention of the company]
A request by the Town Council that Mc Carthy and Stone set aside an area of land within the new development for a future war memorial for the town has been rejected by South Gloucestershire planning officers, who felt the location to be unsuitable “mainly due to the [site’s] relationship with Savages Wood Road and highway considerations”.
A source at South Gloucestershire Council said that the authority was waiting for McCarthy & Stone to sign the Section 106 agreement associated with the development, which obliges the company to retain the 24 social housing units “in perpetuity”, contribute £7,965 towards the improvement of local library services, provide a new access junction into the site from Savages Wood Road and provide a new footpath to the west of the site (along the edge of the Three Brooks car park).
is this really a good idea, retirement flats next door to a pub!!! – Also as a regular customer of the Brooks pub we often leave our car there overnight, is this going to be a problem?
As a parent whose kids went to Meadowbrook in the past, I’m sure the school often mentioned in newsletters that parents were able to use the Three Brooks car park for drop off and pick up.
Can’t be 100% as we always walked but I’m sure they (Meadowbrook) used to mention it in newsletters in order to encourage people to use the pub and avoid parking problems in Crystal Way/ Three Brooks Lane and that they claimed there was an agreement in place?
It’d be interesting to hear what Mr Barr, the Head Teacher has to say?
Is the reduction in the size of the car park a permanant thing or just during construction of the retirement homes?
Sounds like Mr Williams is out of touch with what the community wants. As the original Chair of Governors of Meadowbrook School I was involved in negoiations with the then manager of the pub and Ember Inns and it was agreed that the car park could be used by parents collecting their children from school due to its close proximity to the pedestrian crossing.
I can’t see a problem for Mr Williams as I wouldn’t have thought the pub car park would be full at 3.30pm Monday to Friday. Come on Mr Williams show some community spirit or people may take their money somewhere else.
In the effort to give the children dropped off and collected a chance for a healthy life , I applaud Mr Williams views and think parents ought to leave the cars behind and start getting some exercise for themselves and their potentially soon to be overweight children. I used to walk happily to school without mum or dad and I lived at least as far from school as the furthest house in Bradley Stoke (or are these not Bradley Stoke parents).
Also shouldn’t Mr Williams be encouraging his customers to leave the car behind rather than the obvious continued Driving Under the Influence that takes place at the Three Brooks day after day. I know the local constabulary won’t do anything about it but it is very dangerous as well as illegal.
Let us hope that building retirement homes opposite the pub will finally influence the council to limit the pubs license.
Thus far, myself and countless others are subject to weekly torture as the drunkards flock onto the street singing, shouting, vomiting and fighting past 2 o’clock in the morning, bringing riot vans out and littering the street with broken glass!
12 months of building may be a blessing in disguise in the long term!
@Jonboy,,,, why can’t the parents use tesco carpark or walk,,, I live 2 minutes away from medowbrook skl, and most of the parents that use the carpark live closer to the skl then those who walk………yes people may take their money somewhere else as they can’t park in the pub carpark as it is filled with parents (some lazy)…………
I hope they dont limit the pub’s licence – are you being a bit OTT there Jimbo!