Housing plans - Coalpit Heath and Yate area

The housing plans for our area made it into the Bristol Post earlier this week - but what they didn't make clear is that this is not a done deal. There is still a chance to have your say.

What the draft Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) says

You can read the full draft JSP here. The key points for Coalpit Heath are:

• Around 1,800 new homes by 2036
• Up to 5ha of employment land
• Vehicular access off Badminton Road/Frog Lane, Roundways and Woodside Road
• New local centre including one, possibly two, primary schools, a local retail outlet and community facility
• Contributions to a new or expanded secondary school in the wider area

In the Yate area it proposes:

• A minimum of 2,000 homes, with at least 1,000 to be built by 2036, to the north west of Yate, stretching round from Engine Common to Nibley.
• New employment land west of Yate, stretching from the Badminton Road down to the double railway arches on the edge of Westerleigh.

The site to the south of Chipping Sodbury is now being held as "contingency" - so if homes aren't being built quickly enough elsewhere, it could be released at one of the 5-yearly reviews of the plan. Planners say around 1,500 homes could be built here, up to 775 before 2036. The site to the north of St John's Way is now considered to be too small to be a strategic development location, but developers have already put forward plans for part of it.

Transport

The developments at Coalpit Heath and north west and west of Yate would be expected to provide or contribute to a strategic transport package including:

• Metrobus extension to Yate and Chipping Sodbury
• A432 Park and Ride
• Yate Rail Station enhancement
• Winterbourne and Frampton Cotterell Bypass
• strategic cycle route
• local bus services. 

The Yate development would also be likely to require an on-site rail crossing and a new rail bridge across Nibley Lane. There is no mention of a Yate link road to any new motorway junction.

Chances to speak up

The JSP is currently going through a process of being approved for consultation. Members of the action group VALID and your local Focus Team attended the Infrastructure Board meeting on Monday to speak and will be in action again at the West of England Joint Committee meeting in Bath this coming Monday.

There will also be chances to speak at both the South Gloucestershire Cabinet meeting at 2pm on 6th November and the Council meeting at 7pm on 8th November (both at Kingswood Civic Centre).

Have your say in the consultation

If the consultation goes ahead, it's expected to run from 22nd November to 10th January. When it starts, we'll let you know how to have your say.