Nov/Dec 2020
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23
News Council officers recommend Abbey Wood Travelodge and Greggs scheme for approval Late objection from parish council still to overcome
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planning application for the construction of a Travelodge hotel and a Greggs drive-through near the entrance to the Abbey Wood Retail Park in Filton was recommended for approval by officers at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC) in mid-October. However, the case is now having to be reconsidered by the planning department after it was pointed out that although most of the development site lies within the Filton town boundary, a small part sits within Stoke Gifford and the parish council there had not been formally consulted. The proposed development site is a 0.4ha area of grassland located between the access road into the retail park and the A4174, just to the east of the existing McDonald’s restaurant. The four-storey, 85-bed Travelodge and single-storey Greggs outlet would share a new 49-space car park, accessed from the existing road which leads into McDonald’s. The development would create 25 full-time-equivalent jobs. The applicant envisages that customers of the Greggs outlet will predominantly use the parking spaces in the day with the guests of the hotel using these during the evening and morning hours. Registered hotel guests will
be also be allowed to use the main parking area at the shopping park as an overspill. In their report, council officers accepted the applicant’s analysis, saying they “do not consider [car parking provision] to be a problem”. Referring to SGC’s local plan, which calls for more ‘comparison’ retail space to be provided within the Stoke Gifford District Centre, the applicant had claimed this requirement is out of step with market demand, and says this has been “exacerbated by Covid-19”. In their report, officers acknowledged that the evidence underpinning this policy is now “very dated”, conceding that it is “unlikely to be an accurate reflection of today’s retail need”. Justifying the need for another hotel in the area, the applicant had claimed the forthcoming YTL Arena in Filton could be expected create a “significant level of demand”. Officers agreed, saying the hotel would play a part in fulfilling the economic demands created by the arena. Concerns raised by the council’s landscape and urban design specialists have resulted in the applicant revising some aspects of the scheme, to the satisfaction of officers. The revisions include additional tree, hedge and shrub planting, the introduction of feature paving and a change to
Top: Visualisation of Travelodge & Greggs. Above: Aerial view showing site.
lighter-coloured metal cladding panels on the hotel. As we went to press, we learned that Stoke Gifford Parish Council, after considering the application at its planning committee meeting on 27th October, had lodged an objection. The grounds for objection are given as lack of parking bays, the area already having sufficient hotels, the site not being designated for C1 hotel use,
loss of trees, traffic congestion and pollution. SGC officers say they will now reconsider the case and determine it according to the council’s constitution. Should the officer recommendation remain one of approval, local ward members could, in sufficient numbers, ‘call in’ the application for determination by an SGC planning committee. ● Planning ref: P20/08495/F
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