A ‘masterplan’ to expand Bristol eastwards is set to get the green light this week
A map showing the plan for the new Hicks Gate new town, which could include more than 3,000 new homes – taken from the Hicks Gate Masterplan
This one outlines urban centres with a red dot, and the location of two primary schools, in purple(Image: WECA)
A plan which will effectively join Bristol up with Keynsham with a new town of more than 3,000 new homes is set to take a big step forward this week.
Council chiefs at the West of England Combined Authority are meeting to give the go-ahead to something called the ‘Hicks Gate Masterplan’, which will create a ‘vibrant, zero-carbon community’ on the fields between the south-eastern edge of Bristol and the town of Keynsham.
The new town, called Hicks Gate, will contain high density housing at the Bristol end on the site of the Brislington Park and Ride, and also in the heart of the new development, with new homes and two new primary schools built on either side of the A4.
The focal point of the new town will be a transport hub close to the existing Hicks Gate roundabout, which will be the junction of two mass transit routes in years to come – one between Bristol and Bath and another looping around the Avon Ring Road up to Emersons Green and on to Filton and north Bristol.
The plan, which goes before council leaders this week, is being co-ordinated by the Weca because the area to be developed straddles both Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset, and also runs up to the South Gloucestershire border.
Council chiefs have held three consultation events with local residents already, and said that, because most of the land is privately-owned, they have held meetings with landowners and developers to work on plans together.
The urgency for the Weca to adopt the Masterplan and have it then shape the planning rules for future planning applications is stark – in February, Bristol Live revealed that developers Crest Nicholson had already started the planning process to build as many as 550 new homes on the north side of the A4.
The Brislington Park and Ride will close and be replaced by the mass transit hub closer to the Hicks Gate roundabout, while the sports pitches to the east of St Brendan’s Sixth Form College, are outside the red line of development.
But inside the red line of development is a vast area stretching from the railway line to the east of Broomhill in Brislington, all the way to the Hicks Gate roundabout, across the A4 and including the fields up to Stockwood Lane and Durley Hill – the main road into Keynsham.
A map showing the plan for the new Hicks Gate new town, which could include more than 3,000 new homes – taken from the Hicks Gate Masterplan
The development will take place within the red line, on land between Bristol and Keynsham(Image: WECA)
Council leaders have been advised by the planning officers to approve the scheme – the alternative is to leave the planning of the new development up to landowners, developers and the individual councils on the three sides of the boundary.
If approved this week, it will fire the starting gun on developers who already have announced plans to develop what is currently the green belt between Keynsham and Bristol.
The plan includes sites for two large, two-form-entry primary schools, as well as major changes to the A4 to include capacity for mass transit – possibly a tram system – between Bristol and Bath.
“Hicks Gate will be a vibrant, zero-carbon community, with a well-defined and attractive urban setting,” the Masterplan claims. “It will be a place characterised by a high-quality urban environment that is in harmony with its attractive landscape setting.
“It will be an exemplar for sustainable living, providing new approaches to transport and green and blue infrastructure. Hicks Gate will include a wide mix of complementary uses which will help bind the new community with existing settlements, ensuring that new and existing residents will have shared access to a wide range of services and facilities,” it added.
“There is an opportunity for significant new homes on a key transport corridor, alongside moving the existing Brislington Park and Ride to Hicks Gate,” the masterplan says.
A map showing the plan for the new Hicks Gate new town, which could include more than 3,000 new homes – taken from the Hicks Gate Masterplan(Image: WECA)
“This could be a catalyst for mass transit ‘east-west’, as well as a step change in orbital public transport (and potentially mass transit) along the A4174 ring-road a key requirement to support new strategic growth proposed in the South Gloucestershire new Local Plan (currently at examination) along the Bristol East Fringe, and at Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc,” it added.
The Hicks Gate new town plan is the fifth to be outlined around the edge of Bristol in just the past few months, as developers and council chiefs look to expand the city outwards, while the planned developments in Bristol’s inner city area have hit a viability crisis, leaving only build-to-rent flats and student accommodation getting built.
Last week, Bristol Live revealed that developers Taylor Wimpey is planning a new town either side of the A38 on the way out of South Bristol towards Bristol Airport, while Bristol Live also revealed last month that Metro Mayor Helen Godwin is looking to establish a Mayoral Development Zone to co-ordinate the creation of new towns at Brabazon – the old Filton Airfield – Bradley Stoke and either side of the M4 at Emersons Green in South Gloucestershire.