Update #13
St Christopher's plans are 'unsafe' and scheme should be thrown out say road & traffic experts
Lots of you have been asking - what’s happening with the St Christopher’s development…it’s all gone very quiet?
Well, SCAN is still here - campaigning and advocating - and we want to keep you up to date with where things stand and what to expect over the coming months. There’s a few things to tell you.
What’s happening with the application?
It’s still being considered by planning officers. We are waiting for a number of key reports on the scheme to be published, like education for example. It’s a complex application and unfortunately that means a rather long drawn out process. The reports from both within the council and other external groups have so far been largely extremely negative about the proposals. From Historic England calling it a ‘harmful’ scheme to objections from local councillors and DarrenJones, MP to deep concern from nature conservation charities, among many others. Add to that the 600 or so objections from you - and others across the city - and it forms a very loud voice speaking out against the development.
Did anything happen over the summer?
Yes - one of the most important reports from the traffic and road safety experts at the council was published....their verdict? The scheme is a road safety risk and should be refused. The report highlighted particular worries over car parking spaces and overspill in an already congested area and also called the proposed entrance next to the Daisy Chain nursery in Etloe Road "unacceptable”.
You can read more in this article in the Voice newspaper.
The Council’s experts findings chimed exactly with what we and many of you have said - parking is a nightmare around here, road safety is getting worse and the area couldn't cope with a huge development. The highways department referred to SCANs detailed research and surveys carried out on our local roads - which painted a very detailed picture indeed. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this amazing piece of work.
And just in case you missed it, the developers also released their financial viability report which SCAN analysed closely - and we believe contained ‘significant flaws’. None of their calculations justify the lack of any affordable housing provision or the excessive number of units that they want to build. You can see a summary of our analysis here.
So… what’s next?
We will keep an eye on the planning portal for any updates and continue to push for information about our key areas of concern. We are looking out for those key reports - from education, regarding replacement SEND provision, as well as comments from the city’s design panel. At some point we will find out what the planning officer is recommending to councillors - either to recommend for approval or to refuse it. Then councillors will then sit on a committee and make a final decision. That could be still weeks or months away.
The other option is that the scheme will be withdrawn by the developers because there are too many negative reports and therefore too many obstacles to overcome. They may well go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.
But we know this isn't a scheme that needs a few tweaks to make it acceptable - it needs a complete rethink to ensure it's both sensitive and appropriate and genuinely benefits our neighbourhood and the wider Bristol community.
We will be in touch as soon as we know anything.
Thanks for your continued support and interest. What an amazing community we live in!
All the best from the team at SCAN