Thousands of homes could be built on green space in a South Gloucestershire village

The whole look of a South Gloucestershire village and its surrounding area could change completely if plans to build thousands of homes on its green space go ahead. Warmley, as well as the neighboring areas of Siston and Bridgeyate, are as they are, lucky enough to be situated amongst extensive countryside and green space, but as part of a review of possible sites for future housing developments in South Gloucestershire, this it could change. drastic.

Warmley itself boasts historic walking routes over old Roman roads and past historic landmarks. It also boasts a vast forest where local residents venture for peaceful walks, to walk their dogs and even to make the most of facilities such as the local skate park and scout hut. Images from the plans show that much of the woodland and parkland could be built on, which would completely limit woodland walks.

That’s not to mention the fact that the area is along the Bristol to Bath Cycle/Rail route, which itself boasts historical monuments and landmarks, a renowned coffee shop, safer means of transport for cyclists and fast alternative routes to access two major cities in the West Country. The A4174 ring road, which already faces heavy daily traffic and disruption near the area, is right next to part of the planned development and is the main link to the M32 and Bristol city center – and local residents are concerned that things it will only get worse if such new developments continue.

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Under plans by South Gloucestershire Council, which aims to develop the area over 15 years, Warmley alone will see somewhere in the region more than 3,000 new homes developed on five separate sites if all the designated space is used. Oldland and neighboring Bridgeyate could see 350 (over two separate sites) and 100 (on a single site) respectively.

In fact, according to the forward plans, Warmley as a whole, although split into North and South, is listed as ‘large urban areas’ in the South Gloucestershire Local Plan (last updated December 2023). A consultation has been ongoing since then, with local residents being urged to share their thoughts and comments on the potential plans via this interactive map.

The locations for potential sites for possible redevelopment in this area are part of one of three alternative ‘lenses’. These were explored, the council says, to “make choices about where new homes, jobs and infrastructure could go”.

The council says: “We show the places, individual locations, the number of homes and the amount of land for jobs that could have been delivered under each lens. Each lens represents a potential alternative approach to building a strategy to meet our needs for new homes and jobs while balancing this with environmental, social and infrastructure issues.”

In the Local Plan, the council talks about how this ‘lens’ works in relation to the council’s priorities and plan objectives, outlining the challenges it would face and saying: “If this objective were progressed as our Preferred Strategy, it would be able to provide a large number. of homes and jobs close to Bristol’s northern and eastern fringes, as well as the Severnside employment area, taking advantage of the district’s main service and employment hubs.

“It could also take advantage of the strategic infrastructure, public transport and active travel routes that support the large population centers and communities that the homes and jobs in this target would be adjacent to. However, in this regard, the objective would present several challenges. to align with our key objectives to deliver housing and jobs in a sustainable way Challenges such as:

• providing a large part of the planned requirement in the Green Belt
• planning for only a proportionate number of homes and jobs in rural villages that would see no growth or the benefits that come with it, including affordable housing and support for the rural economy
• the geographical balance of housing and employment across the authority
• the ability to fund and deliver the strategic infrastructure needed particularly around the A4174 and deliver significant improvements to public transport networks at the sites and locations in the target
• the potential need to demonstrate that sites pass both sequential and exception tests.”

According to the interactive map provided by the council, some of the key landmarks/locations (highlighted in blue in the images) which could see redevelopment include the Bendrey Brothers sawmills on Bath Road, Bridgeyate. In January, the company issued a statement following the identification of the business site as potential land for 110 new homes in the Local Plan.

The statement read: “Bendrey Brothers Ltd. have been operating as a sawmill and timber merchants from the Bridgeyate site since 1890. Company directors Chris and Alex Bendrey are proud to be the fifth generation of Bendrey Brothers to be active in the business .

“The sawmill site and adjacent land in Bath Road, Bridgeyate, is owned by the Bendrey family – while we are interested in developing the site for our own commercial needs, building houses is not our intention. Over many years our family have worked hard to establish and grow our Timber Merchant business, we have deep roots in the Bristol and Bath Timber Trade.

“We have supplied our products to several generations of customers in our local community; we provide hundreds of local trade customers with essential products needed to run their businesses; we also offer jobs in our local area. We are very proud of our heritage and look forward to it continuing for many years to come.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers, employees and suppliers for 134 years of trading. We hope this statement addresses any concerns. foreseeable future”.

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