New £8m bridge to unlock 10,000 homes gets go-ahead
ACONTROVERSIAL plan to build a bridge over a railway line near Tewkesbury to unlock land for 10,000 new homes has been approved.
Gloucestershire County Council’s planning application, for the £8.1 million bridge over the Birmingham to Bristol line on fields near Sinderberry Drive, in Northway, has been agreed by Tewkesbury Borough Council.
The borough council said the infrastructure is needed to unlock future plans to create a new garden town.
It said it had been working on the project with the county council.
But the bridge scheme has been controversial, with the borough council receiving 227 objections. Many people have feared the bridge could harm the landscape and worsen flooding problems, with there being no guarantee that the houses will be built.
However, the borough council said the bridge was “a crucial part of the infrastructure needed for the emerging Tewkesbury Garden Town”. It said the bridge structure would include provision for a new road, integrated cycle path and walkway. It would provide better east-to-west access in parallel with ongoing efforts to develop more detailed master planning for the area.
The council said the eventual alignment of the link roads and layout of housing development were not part of this planning application and would be part of future planning application submissions.
Councillor Rob Bird, (C, Cleeve West), the borough council’s leader, said: “I am extremely pleased that the borough council has been permitted to deliver a bridge over the railway in Ashchurch. This marks the next significant stage in delivering the all-important infrastructure needed to support the new Garden Town – a proper community with homes fit for the future.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government awarded the borough council £8.1 million of funding to deliver a bridge that could unlock parcels of land to the east of the railway line which are highlighted in the Garden Town Concept Masterplan as development opportunities.
The borough council commissioned the support of the county council as a key strategic partner in the project due to its status as the local highways authority and its experience in designing and delivering significant infrastructure schemes.
Several parish councils in and around the area objected to the application.
Ashchurch Rural Parish Council feared that what it called “an 11m high concrete monolith” could harm the landscape and might not be needed if the houses were not approved.
Northway Parish Council and Tewkesbury Town Council both had fears that the bridge would worsen flooding problems.