![\"HorseWorld](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_LC_091225horsie_00.jpg\")
<\/p>\n“We know this represents a significant change, and we understand that people will have different views”<\/p>\n
HorseWorld CEO Jo Coombs(Image: \u00a9Barbara Evripidou)<\/p>\n
The boss of a well-known equine charity and sanctuary on the edge of Bristol has said selling the land to housing developers and moving to a new site will ensure its future, after plans for a new town of 1,000 homes<\/a> were revealed.<\/p>\n Jo Coombs, the chief executive of HorseWorld, has called on supporters of the charity in Whitchurch Village, on the southern edge of Bristol, to get involved in the consultation that Bristol Live revealed earlier this week<\/a> is to be held by developers Barwood Land.<\/p>\n The developers are holding a drop-in session later this month into plans for 1,000 new homes<\/a>, a new primary school and a community hub on a large swathe of countryside to the east of Whitchurch Village, the south of Stockwood in Bristol and close to Queen Charlton and Keynsham.<\/p>\n Some of the land, in North East Somerset, is owned by Horseworld, and Jo Coombs said the charity had taken the decision to bring in Barwood Land, who would buy the land from them if they get planning permission.<\/p>\n There has been speculation that Horseworld\u2019s fields at Keynes Farm, on the edge of Whitchurch Village, would be built on for 10 years, with Bath<\/a> & North East Somerset Council\u2019s Local Plan finally suggesting it as a site for new housing last year – to fury from villagers.<\/p>\n Jo Coombs said the pressures on the horse sanctuary were threatening its long-term survival.<\/p>\n \u201cSince 2016, land around Keynes Farm has been considered for new housing by the local council,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are taking a proactive approach in response to the council\u2019s plan to ensure we can secure a sustainable future for HorseWorld and increase the impact of our life-changing work. We have appointed locally based land promoters Barwood Land to lead the planning process alongside the council\u2019s land-use plan. We are consulting with a wide range of our community to seek their feedback,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Plans for 1,000 homes, a new school and community centre are to be unveiled later in June 2026 on a vast swathe of land that includes Horseworld, on the edge of Whitchurch Village and Stockwood in South Bristol(Image: Barwood Land\/Google Earth)<\/p>\n \u201cYear on year we face an ever-increasing demand for our services, both to rescue and rehabilitate neglected and abused horses, and to deliver our critical work with young people struggling in mainstream education. Alongside this rising demand, we face rising costs that threaten the future of our charity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that we cannot continue as we are indefinitely. A future land sale would ensure the charity can continue its vital work \u2014 protecting what we do by relocating to a new site nearby where we can do even more for the horses and young people who rely on us,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Last October, villagers turned out in force to a public meeting<\/a> to discuss the future of Whitchurch Village, with the council\u2019s draft Local Plan suggesting various options, some of which could see 5,000 new homes built around it<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Barwood Land proposal goes much further than many in Whitchurch Village had thought would be the case if Horseworld was redeveloped, with new homes all the way over to Stockwood and to the woods on the edge of Queen Charlton.<\/p>\n Barwood Land will unveil the details of its proposals at the consultation event, get feedback and feed that into a planning application, which is expected later this year.<\/p>\n Jo said she knew there were mixed views about the plans. \u201cWe understand that some people will have concerns about development on this land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n HorseWorld (Image: HorseWorld)<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been vital to us that any proposed site design reflects the care we have taken of this site over many years. A significant proportion – more than 50 per cent – would remain as green, open space, with enhanced biodiversity and, importantly, new opportunities for public access \u2014 something that has not been possible whilst the site has been used to care for vulnerable horses and young people.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know this represents a significant change, and we understand that people will have different views. We warmly invite everyone with a connection to HorseWorld \u2014 our supporters, volunteers, local residents and the wider community \u2014 to take part in the consultation and share their feedback,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The Whitchurch Village new town of 1,000 homes comes just days after Bristol Live revealed there are plans for five other \u2018new towns\u2019 around the edge of Bristol<\/a>. One is already getting established – the Brabazon development on the former Filton<\/a> Airfield – and metro mayor Helen Godwin looks set to start a Mayoral Development Agency to push through the development of a new town near Bristol Parkway station, and the \u2018North Lyde Eco-Tech Village\u2019, which would see Bristol\u2019s urban boundary extend beyond the M4 towards Westerleigh.<\/p>\n At the start of June, Bristol Live revealed the \u2018masterplan\u2019 for a new town at Hicks Gate, which would effectively physically merge Bristol and Keynsham with thousands of new homes, just a few fields and a golf course away from the land south of Stockwood.<\/p>\n And developers also held a consultation event for a new town called Woodspring, which could be built either side of the A38 just outside Bristol, on land between Long Ashton, Dundry and Barrow Gurney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“We know this represents a significant change, and we understand that people will have different views” HorseWorld CEO…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1021706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8818],"tags":[14141,14140,381,10648,748,2266,393,10300,4884,6334,29121,12717,10002,55861,16,15,10000],"class_list":["post-1021705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bristol","tag-bath-and-north-east-somerset","tag-bath-and-north-east-somerset-council","tag-bristol","tag-bristol-live","tag-britain","tag-education","tag-england","tag-filton","tag-great-britain","tag-housing-crisis","tag-keynsham","tag-planning","tag-south-bristol","tag-stockwood","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-whitchurch"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116736697856648233","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1021706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Plans](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_TCBR100626WhitchurchBRI_03JPG.jpg\")
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