But the homes have already been given planning permission
Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East(Image: Kerry McCarthy)
A Labour MP and minister has called on her own Government not to build homes on a wildlife-rich open space, and said she will ‘continue to look for realistic ways to prevent’ it.
Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy has reiterated her opposition to a plan by the Government’s housing and development agency Homes England to build homes in Brislington, while local Liberal Democrats have described the situation as a ‘mess of Labour’s own making’.
Last week, Homes England announced it was pressing on with a plan to build 260 homes on the Brislington Meadows, a series of fields in between Broomhill and Brislington, and had appointed a housebuilder to continue the work.
Developers Keepmoat has been appointed as Homes England’s chosen housebuilder, and it is they who will go back to Bristol City Council to ask for permission for its detailed plan for the homes on Brislington Meadows.
Bristol City Council refused outline planning permission but Homes England won on appeal, and now Keepmoat are being given the job of getting a detailed plan through City Hall.
Kerry McCarthy joined Marvin Rees in a photocall at Brislington Meadows in 2021 when the then Mayor of Bristol announced the land his council had sold to Homes England to be built on shouldn’t be built on after all.
Ms McCarthy, who is a junior minister for Climate in the Labour Government, said she has always opposed it being developed, but the reality now is that Homes England does have planning permission.
In a statement, she reiterated her position that she doesn’t think it should be developed. “Homes England have announced that they have found a developer for Brislington Meadows, and intend to begin further consultation about the proposed development ahead of submitting a restricted matters planning application later this year,” she said. “I will be seeking a meeting with the developers as soon as possible.
Mayor Marvin Rees announced plans not to develop on the contested Brislington Meadows in Bristol in April 2021
From left: Tim Rippington (cllr for Brislington East), Kerry McCarthy (MP for Bristol East), Mayor Marvin Rees and Katja Hornchen (candidate for Brislington East).(Image: James Beck/BristolLive)
“I remain of the view that the Meadows development should not go ahead. As well as being a site of Nature Conservation Interest, the Meadows is a key green lung for Brislington and developing it would have a detrimental impact on local residents.
“I will continue to look for realistic ways to prevent the development; if this isn’t possible then I will be pushing as strongly as I can to reduce the development’s footprint, to ensure access to local people to the wider Meadows, and a promise that any Biodiversity Net Gain remains in the local area,” she added.
Meanwhile, Keepmoat bosses said they are ‘excited’ by the prospect of building 260 new homes on the site, but added that they wanted to ‘ensure the biodiversity’ there is ‘enhanced’.
“We’re excited to be appointed by Homes England to bring forward this piece of land,” said Ben Leather, Keepmoat’s regional managing director.
“At Keepmoat, we’re committed to understanding all perspectives and we will continuously engage with the Council, the Brislington community, and other stakeholders to ensure that the development reflects shared ambitions for the site.
“We also recognise the importance of balancing delivering the needed new homes with the local environment. We are working to ensure the biodiversity of Brislington Meadows is enhanced,” he added.
Local Liberal Democrats have criticised Labour and Kerry McCarthy. “The Labour Party may no longer be in charge in Bristol, but the mess they made is still having an impact,” said Cllr Andrew Varney (Lib Dem, Brislington West).
“Let us not forget that it was Bristol Labour who sold the land for development and then changed their minds. Since the sale had gone through and the development was in the local plan from 2014, Bristol Labour have made local residents powerless to stop it – no matter what they wrote on their leaflets”.
The Liberal Democrat group leader on Bristol City Council, Cllr Jos Clark (Liberal Democrat, Brislington West) said: “Brislington Meadows demonstrates how willing Bristol Labour are to be dishonest about their very own plans, and how easily they will change their tune when it comes to election time.
“Even though local MP Kerry McCarthy has opposed this development and is now in the Labour Government, this development is still being pushed through by the Government. This only goes to show the lack of integrity Labour have and their disregard for protecting our precious green spaces,” she added.
TIMELINE – The Saga of Brislington Meadows
2014 – Under George Ferguson’s Bristol City Council administration, Brislington Meadows was added to the Local Plan – and voted through by all parties at City Hall. A campaign to ‘save’ Brislington Meadows began, run by local residents.
2016 – New Mayor Marvin Rees and a new Labour administration took over at City Hall. The then housing chief Paul Smith began working on a deal with the owner of most of the land at Brislington Meadows, London-based development company Olympia & Hammersmith, to get new homes built.
2019 – Bristol City Council owned some of the land at Brislington Meadows, including key access points, and persuaded Homes England to step in and buy the land required from Olympia & Hammersmith so the land could be built on.
Artists’ impression of Homes England’s plans to build 260 new homes on Brislington Meadows in South Bristol(Image: Homes England)
Feb 2020 – Bristol City Council declared an ecological emergency
Mar 2020 – Homes England bought all of Brislington Meadows, spending a total of £15m buying the land from O&H, the council itself, and local business owner Johnny Palmer.
Autumn 2020 – Plans were revealed by Homes England for 300 homes to be built there, including 90 council houses
Jan 2021 – Homes England announced the start of a consultation process on its plans for 300 homes, but then said that will be delayed so it doesn’t happen during the election campaign.
April 2021 – Just 20 days before polling day, mayor Marvin Rees, local MP Kerry McCarthy and Labour’s two candidates for Brislington East announced that Brislington Meadows won’t be built on, because the Avon Wildlife Trust had said the land there was too ecologically important to be destroyed by development. Homes England cancelled its planned consultations.
May 2021 – Both Labour candidates, Tim Rippington and Katja Hornchen, were elected in Brislington East, as was mayor Marvin Rees.
Summer 2021 – Avon Wildlife Trust said other greenfield sites in South Bristol, including the Western Slopes in Knowle West and Yew Tree Farm on Bedminster Down, should not be built on either – both have developers with plans for hundreds of new homes. Mayor Marvin Rees said Yew Tree Farm should not be developed. A Tory and Green Party motion calling for all green field sites in Bristol to be protected from new housing was passed by the council, with Labour councillors abstaining.
Oct 2021 – Homes England announced it still wants to develop Brislington Meadows, with consultation on its plans starting at the end of November.
Nov 2021 – Homes England unveiled its plans for 260 new homes, including 78 affordable, and announced a consultation in early December.
Apr 2022 – Homes England submitted an outline planning application
June 2022 – Residents hold a protest march through Brislington Meadows to highlight the strength of opposition to the plans for housing.
An extract from the Bristol City Council Local Plan 2024 – draft version. One map contains the unusual situation where the Brislington Meadows are coloured light green here, indicating they should remain green open space, but with the red outline showing where planning permission has already been given for 260 new homes(Image: Bristol City Council)
Oct 2022 – After realising it would eventually be refused, Homes England appealed to the Government Planning Inspectorate for non-determination, as soon as it was six months since they submitted the application, and it hadn’t been decided.
Nov 2022 – Bristol City Council begins drawing up its Local Plan for 2024, mapping where homes can be built, and promises to take Brislington Meadows back out of the list.
Jan 2023 – The Government Planning Inspector held a public inquiry into whether the land should be developed.
April 2023 – The planning inspector ruled that, because it is in the 2014 Local Plan as housing land, Homes England should get planning permission for their plan.
READ MORE: Delay to meadows homes creates planning paradoxREAD MORE: Brislington Meadows homes plan should be stopped but it won’t be, admits MP
June 2023 – Residents and Kerry McCarthy MP urge Communities minister Michael Gove to look again at the plan, and tell Homes England to drop the development. He thinks about it, but declines.
Summer 2024 – Homes England say they will submit a ‘reserved matters’ planning application, confirming the details for the housing development by the end of 2024.
Jan 2025 – There is a delay to the detailed planning application. Homes England still has not confirmed which housebuilder it will partner with. The agency say it ‘intends’ to submit a reserved matters application in the summer of 2025.
April 2025 – Homes England announces Keepmoat as its developer for Brislington Meadows, and said it will put forward a ‘reserved matters’ application, with work starting in 2026