The wildlife haven is a step closer towards being saved from development
Brislington Meadows has long been earmarked for housing(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Councillors have voted to refuse permission for the details of a planned housing estate on cherished meadows in South Bristol. Brislington Meadows is a step closer to being saved from development after the late-night vote by the planning committee B on Wednesday, May 20.
Keepmoat applied to Bristol City Council for planning permission to build 260 homes on the meadows, a haven for wildlife described as the “green lung” of the area. The developers already had outline permission, for the principle of building houses there, but needed “reserved matters” approved too, which sets out details like the layout, appearance and transport.
The plans were refused because of concerns about how many of the new streets would be very steep, causing problems with accessibility. Some streets would be too steep for the council to adopt, so they would be private roads.
There were also lingering fears about how the housing estate would destroy natural habitats. Keepmoat could still legally challenge the decision, which might be overturned by the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
Much of the debate came down to whether the plan to improve wildlife habitats should be looked at by councillors in public, or just council planning officers in private. While planning officers said normally these should be approved in private, because they are “technical”, campaigners disagreed.
The wildlife plan formed a key part of the debate the last time round, in April. However councillors were told not to consider this as part of the application.
Artist’s impression images showing what the Brislington Meadows proposed development would look like(Image: Keepmoat)
Speaking to the committee, campaigner Hilary Rydon said: “Councillors should be able to scrutinise and approve the biodiversity net gain strategy, and confirm the neighbouring fields proposed for the offsetting are suitable. It is undemocratic to deny them this right. There is massive opposition to the destruction of this SNCI [Site of Nature Conservation Interest].”
Labour Councillor Tim Rippington, who represents Brislington East, added: “Local people and local democracy have been failed utterly by this scheme. Now the BNG plans which are central to the whole scheme have been accepted by the council with no scrutiny from elected members. The BNG report should be given proper scrutiny before anything can proceed further.”
However council planning officers recommended that the committee approve permission. No council experts objected on grounds of road safety nor ecology. The biodiversity net gain plan was also not an issue that should hold up the development, according to planning officers. Developers said that 200 new trees would be planted, which is more than would be felled.
Ben Leather, regional managing director of Keepmoat Homes, said: “The question before members this evening remains whether the new homes that Bristol so desperately needs are acceptable within that framework. We believe the additional work carried out since April helps members in making that positive judgement.”
Last time the committee considered the plans, in April, councillors said the biodiversity strategy should be looked at before they permit the application. Keepmoat submitted its revised strategy to the council on May 11. The first part of the strategy was approved by planning officers on Monday, May 18, but not the second part.
In theory, the development would create a “10 per cent net gain” in biodiversity. This means a boost to habitats overall, even though some will be destroyed. However the developers admitted they won’t achieve this on the site, and so would need to improve habitats elsewhere. But this off-site provision had not yet been agreed, so questions remain about how the plan would work.
Green Cllr Guy Poultney said: “I think it caught us all a bit by surprise to find out two days before this meeting that a huge chunk of it, and something we had specifically asked to see, had already been made. The problem was it should have never been sold in the first place, and the second problem is it should have been bought back.”
The council, under the former Labour mayor Marvin Rees, sold the land to Homes England, then decided housing should not be built there. He campaigned in the 2021 local elections on saving the meadows and said they should not be built on. A government planning inspector then approved outline permission for the development, because the council took too long to decide.
Cllr Poultney added: “The site is simply too difficult. We find ourselves back here a few weeks later, and not a material change has been made and not a single piece of evidence has been produced to put our minds at ease, in respect of the concerns that we raised.”
Voting in favour of refusing permission were Green Cllrs Poultney, Shona Jemphrey, George Calascione and Mohamed Makawi; and Labour Cllrs Fabian Breckels and Lisa Durston. Voting against refusal were Liberal Democrat Cllr Sarah Classick; Conservative Cllr Richard Eddy; and Labour Cllr Don Alexander.
The decision mirrors a similar one taken in 2023, when Lovell Homes was refused permission to build 144 homes on another wildlife haven in South Bristol. The Western Slopes in Knowle West were deemed to be dangerously steep, and so councillors voted to refuse permission for the plans.