WHILE it is expected for new developments to at least attempt to be “in keeping” with the other buildings around it, how likely, and how worthwhile is that ever going to be?

The imminent appeal inquiry that will finally decide the fate of the proposed Churchill Retirement Living development replacing the old South Gloucestershire Council site in Thornbury should be the final instalment in a saga that has been drawn out much longer than it should have been, all because some people don’t like the look of it.

It is fair to say that the development would lie in the ‘prettier’ part of town, with the rows of old terraced houses of Castle Street just around the corner from the picturesque corner of the town featuring St Mary’s Church and the castle itself, so you can understand why people are expecting anything new to look nice.

But when you look at the existing buildings, you have to question how bad the plans put forward by Churchill actually are for the pointy, orange, and most importantly empty, former council offices to be the better alternative.