#Update 22 Developers pull the plans

At the eleventh hour, the developers have requested to pull their application from the committee meeting that would have decided the future of the site.

We are not sure what’s happening next - it may go to another council meeting later in the summer but nothing has been confirmed or explained. This is an unusual situation and it's simply not acceptable to mess everyone around at the eleventh hour with no explanation.

We haven't been told officially why it was withdrawn from the agenda, but we understand the developers didn't like the recommendation for refusal much or what was in the planning officers report! 

We are not surprised. 

The council report savaged their proposals on so many levels; officers called the scheme overdeveloped, harmful to heritage and the findings clearly discredited the developers ‘eco’ claims. The awful reality of this scheme was laid bare for all to see.

It would have been embarrassing for them to hear all that in public tomorrow.

No doubt there will be all kinds of desperate PR spin coming our way from a developer who doesn't like hearing the word no. 

However no amount of expensive marketing jargon can hide the fact this is a poorly conceived, badly designed scheme that does nothing but harm. It just isn't appropriate for that site, our community or for Bristol as a whole. 

If the developers thought we would tire of pushing for the right scheme for this site - they’re wrong and they've underestimated the community and what it stands for - again.

We are really sorry to all of you who made plans and rearranged their days to come down and support us in the council chamber. We appreciate your solidarity. And thank you to everyone who has rallied in these last few weeks as we thought we were heading toward the finish line.

Meanwhile, we wait, we ask questions and we try to find out what happens next.

Watch this space.