Indicative plans have been revealed for a proposed development of up to 58 apartments on land at the southern end of Bradley Stoke Way.
Woodstock Homes, a privately owned developer based in the South West, says it is preparing to make a formal planning application for the construction of two 4-storey apartment blocks on an area of “low quality grassland” opposite the junction with The Worthys.
The triangular 1.3 acre site, which borders homes in Ellan Hay Road to the north and Bristol Motorcycle Training Centre and the former Winterbourne View care home to the east, was acquired by the developer in December last year.
The development would consist of a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, arranged around three cores (communal entrances and staircases). In accordance with South Gloucestershire Council policy, 35 percent of the apartments (numbering 20) would be offered as ‘affordable housing’, with the split between social rent and shared ownership still to be decided.
The apartments would be built with the latest renewable technologies, including quality fabric, air source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar panels, ensuring they achieve an EPC ‘A’ rating in terms of energy efficiency. Furthermore, electric vehicle charging points would be provided for all on-site parking spaces.
Access into and out of the site would be via a new junction located around 30m south of the existing junction of Bradley Stoke Way with The Worthys. This would be restricted to ‘right turn in’ and ‘left turn out’ and would require movement across the existing southbound bus lane, a small section of which would need to be “broken”.
A representative of Woodstock Homes presented the indicative proposals to a meeting of Bradley Stoke Town Council’s Planning & Environment Committee on 8th March 2023. Following the presentation, councillors stressed the significance of the site as any development would “give an impression of the town” to those approaching from the south.
Councillors expressed concern over the number of parking spaces being proposed, which the developer’s representative admitted was not policy compliant, but could be justified through the “sustainability of the location” (e.g. being in close proximity to MetroBus stops). Councillors expressed the view that some residents of the new apartments (or their guests) might end up parking in The Worthys, with one saying, “You shouldn’t be looking to develop something that creates a parking problem and then say ‘it was the local authority’s decision'”.
Some councillors also expressed concern over the the height of the proposed buildings, saying “three storeys would be better”, but the developer’s representative insisted that four-storey blocks would be “more appropriate” for the location.
Following the conclusion of pre-application community engagement, it is expected that a formal application for ‘full’ planning permission will be made to South Gloucestershire Council within the next few weeks.
More information and related links:
- Bradley Stoke Way Development – Public Consultation (Woodstock Homes)
- Site location (Google My Maps)
Application submitted
UPDATE added 29th May 2023.
A formal planning application for the proposed development was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council on 5th May 2023.
See: Planning application submitted for 57-unit apartment blocks on Bradley Stoke Way (The Journal)
