Developers ring the changes (From Gazette Series)

Developers ring the changes

DEVELOPERS behind hugely controversial plans for a 30,000-seat stadium complex and housing on land near Easter Compton have announced changes to their draft masterplan following widespread public anxiety and outright opposition.

They say they will shift the stadium further away from the village to reduce its impact and make other important changes to meet residents concerns.

But at the same time developers Redrow Homes and South Gloucestershire Arenas, a joint venture including Bristol City and Bristol Rovers soccer clubs, have revealed they want to increase the number of new homes by 25 percent - from 1,600 to 2,000 - to make the scheme work in commercial terms.

The announcement come in the wake of Redrow's successful High Court challenge to a Government ruling banning cars and lorries from accessing the development land via Easter Compton.

As well as relocating the stadium, the changes, which follow a recent public consultation exercise and further technical studies, also include increasing parking provision; using the flood storage area as a buffer between the site and Easter Compton; and abandoning the idea of using Pilning as the railway station to serve the site.

Redrow Homes regional chairman Colin Lewis said: "We have listened very carefully to what people have said during the consultation process and tried to make changes to the masterplan that respond to people's concerns.

"This site already has planning permission for industrial use, which we are trying to modernise, and our proposals will provide important benefits such as increased flood protection for local people, a sports complex that will benefit the whole of the region, served by a new junction on the M49."

He said the number of homes was being increased to ensure the scheme's viability in the face of "high infrastructure costs".

Details of the changes are set out in a newsletter currently being distributed to more than 2,000 households in Easter Compton, Pilning and Severn Beach, plus a further 250 community stakeholders.

Main revisions to the draft masterplan are:

* Stadium and sports complex to be moved further north into the centre of the site and away from Easter Compton to reduce the impact on the village.

* Employment development to be moved to where the stadium was originally positioned and the flood storage area relocated north and east so that it acts as a buffer between the site and Easter Compton.

* Mixed use retail and community facilities to be relocated to the centre of the proposed new housing rather than, at present, on the periphery of the housing area.

* The proposed link from the stadium and sports complex to Pilning station has been abandoned and, instead, the focus will be on upgrading Severn Beach station and improving public transport links between the site and this station.

* Increased parking at the stadium itself to ensure that there is adequate provision to prevent spill over problems in neighbouring areas.

The developers say they will also:

*Explore with the neighbouring landowner a wider masterplan for the area that could provide a greater length of new spine road and, possibly, enable the proposed new junction on the M49 to be shifted further to the south.

* Consider a package of traffic calming measures for the B4055 and the A403 to minimise the impact of the development on local roads; consider the case for traffic signals of the junction of the B4055 with the roundabout at junction 17 of the M5.

*Examine detailed bus routes to serve the development and the local villages with a high quality, high frequency service.

*Commit to replacing all bridleways, footpaths and cycleways on the site that are removed as part of the development proposal.

* Investigate, in co-operation with the emergency services and emergency planners a detailed evacuation plan for the stadium.

*Commit to provide appropriate community facilities including a site for a new primary school; a financial contribution towards improved secondary school provision in the area; a medical centre, if required; a Post Office and small scale shops to serve the development.

The revised masterplan will be considered at the South Gloucestershire Local Plan Inquiry next March. This will determine whether the designation of the Severnside site should be changed from the present industrial/employment consent to a mixed use including housing, employment and a sports complex.

A recent survey of residents' reaction to the stadium and housing plans showed massive concern, particularly with regard to traffic impact. More than 85percent of those who responded to the survey by Almondsbury Liberal Democrats were opposed in principle to the development.

The major sports complex, also featuring a smaller, outdoor oval for 10,000 spectators, would cater for professional football, rugby, athletics, greyhound racing and other showpiece sporting events.

Northavon MP Steve Webb said: "If the changes to the plan do result in an improvement, it is purely marginal."

"We are still receiving responses to the survey and they are overwhelmingly hostile. We now have the views of a significant number of people and we shall be sending them all to South Gloucestershire Council."