Inspector throws out proposal dubbed a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
CONTROVERSIAL plans for 60 homes branded a “disaster waiting to happen” because residents’ vehicles would enter through a retirement village car park have been rejected on appeal.
A planning inspector has dismissed a bid by developers to overturn a decision by Bristol city councillors to refuse permission for two five-storey blocks on land next to The Vincent retirement complex in Redland.
The local authority’s development control committee voted 4-3 in October 2021 to turn down the application amid concerns for the safety of elderly and disabled pedestrians.
Its decision came despite officers recommending approval and warning that the council would have a “very slim chance” of successfully defending an appeal, which the applicants Elizabeth Blackwell Properties then submitted.
But the Planning Inspectorate has now thrown that out, concluding that the buildings on land called Home Gardens, near the junction of Blackboy Hill and Redland Hill, would be overbearing on two nearby cottages down the slope in St Vincents Hill.
It did not agree that the development would have an unacceptable impact on residents at The Vincent, either during construction or long term, and awarded partial costs against the council on these grounds.
Its report said that although 20 per cent of the homes would be classed as affordable, this would not overcome the harm to neighbours at St Vincents Hill.
The plans received 52 objections during four rounds of consultation before being rejected by councillors 17 months ago.