News / planning
Much-loved meadows left in limbo
Cherished meadows in south Bristol have been left in limbo after a row over whether building houses there would help or harm wildlife habitats.
Developers planning to build 260 homes on Brislington Meadows say they would boost biodiversity by 17 per cent but this was disputed.
Keepmoat Homes has applied to Bristol City Council for planning permission for the layout and appearance of the new housing estate.
But they have hit a stumbling block after councillors on the planning committee B voted on April 1 to defer permitting their plans.
The developers already have outline permission and this was the second stage of getting the green light, known as ‘reserved matters’.
However, lingering questions about the impact on wildlife habitats left councillors unwilling to allow the scheme to press ahead to the next stage.
Developers Keepmoat say they plan to plant more than 200 new trees within the new Brislington Meadows housing estate, “create new wet meadows and other ecological interventions, and recognise the importance of retaining as many trees and hedgerow corridors as possible” – image: Keepmoat Homes
Both developers and local campaigners spoke at the committee meeting.
Katie Peters, representing Keepmoat, said they have “listened carefully to local people and reflected their views in this scheme”.
Peters said: “On nature, the scheme is designed to leave a lasting improvement, with a biodiversity net gain of 17 per cent, well above the minimum required, backed by a clear mechanism to secure and monitor delivery.”
Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is a way of developers showing how their plans would help wildlife habitats.
Even if they destroy some habitats, as Keepmoat would do in Brislington Meadows, overall more would be created, leading to an overall benefit for badgers, bats and other wildlife.
But the specific details of their plans have not yet been decided.
Often developers will also promise to boost biodiversity elsewhere. Previously, with other developments in Bristol, this meant a benefit to habitats in places such as Barnsley – which would be little consolation for the residents of Brislington who call the meadows the green lung of the area, providing a crucial connection to nature.
Some new habitats could be created on the meadows, in theory, or potentially elsewhere too.
Keepmoat offered to simply pay the council to provide the biodiversity net gain.
A financial contribution would allow the council to spend money on nature in another location but also pass off the responsibility to the cash-strapped local authority.
Labour councillor Tim Rippington, representing Brislington East, asked: “Is BNG just another calculation for developers to make on paper, identifying a place or someone else to take on responsibility?
“Or does it actually mean a development cannot go ahead, unless you can prove that you can create a better environment elsewhere than the one that you are destroying?”
Protesters have recently been stepping up their campaign to save Brislington Meadows – photo: Martin Booth
Environmental campaigner Danica Priest said Keepmoat “will tell you their biodiversity net gain is well over the minimum but they haven’t submitted an approved metric, so there is no enforceable mechanism in place to secure this”.
Priest added: “Keepmoat will claim they have reflected our views but our only view is to save this precious nature site from their development.”
Planning decisions like this are often less straightforward than some people might imagine.
Councillors must follow strict rules when they decide to permit developments or refuse permission, lest they face an expensive appeal to the government’s Planning Inspectorate.
This is precisely what happened when the council failed to make a decision in time on granting outline permission.
Homes England then appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, leading to a three-week public inquiry in City Hall which included barristers bickering over the correct way to measure the size and age of a tree.
Keepmoat’s proposals for Brislington Meadows are for 260 new “high-quality homes” with property sizes ranging from one to four bedrooms – image: Keepmoat Homes
Councillors on planning committee B cannot simply refuse permission just because hundreds of local residents are objecting to the development.
Instead, they chose to defer a decision, pending more details about problems like the impact on wildlife habitats.
This leaves the meadows stuck once again in limbo, with a temporary reprieve for the much-loved green space.
Main photo: Save Brislington Meadows
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