8 Southdown Road
Westbury on Trym
Bristol
BS9 3NN
15 December 2024
Westbury on Trym
Bristol
BS9 3NN
15 December 2024
Dear Planning Officer
Planning Application S62A/2024/0070:
Extension to house spa facilities at David Lloyd Centre
Extension to house spa facilities at David Lloyd Centre
Dear Planning Officer
The Westbury on Trym Society is a local amenity society which was founded in 1972 to help look after the amenities, landscape and heritage of Westbury on Trym, particularly its 1300 year old village. The Society commented on the initial application to Bristol City Council as although the application is sited in the Southmead ward, it would have an impact on Westbury on Trym.
The siting of the proposed buildings has been moved from the initial application to Bristol City Council, so that it no longer impacts directly on the trees that were previously impacted. However, we note that the new siting requires the crown and spread of the two semi mature wild cherry trees to be reduced and there is a semi mature oak very close by. These trees will not be able to reach full maturity without causing issues due to their proximity to the development, which we consider will create a need to remove them in the future. This is a particular issue with regard to the oak which can be expected to have a very long life and grow to a substantial size. We do not believe the siting as now proposed will enable this to happen resulting in a loss of a tree of significance.
We previously noted that the development site is currently a staff car park and the planning statement said that it is only ‘informally used as parking from time to time by members of staff. It is not used as an official car park’. Our observations were that vehicles were regularly parked there (see photo below) and this is now confirmed by the transport consultant’s report. There is no parking available outside of the car parking area during the day due to the adjoining Greenway centre, which is also extremely busy and parking from there overflows into the nearby residential streets, of which Greystoke Avenue acts as an important through route.
The transport statement includes a car parking survey undertaken on a Tuesday and Saturday in June 2024. This demonstrates that the car parking including the additional 20 spaces to be occupied by the spa is already near capacity, which our own observations confirm. Indeed some spare capacity is needed to enable a space to be found. A reduction of 8 spaces is now proposed.
The investment in new and better facilities is no doubt designed to attract more members and use of the facilities and consequently more parking. If parking cannot be accommodated at David Lloyd, users will have no option but to try to park on Greystoke Avenue, which would create a hazard to road safety.
We consider that the siting of this proposal needs further review to avoid adverse impacts on the tree coverage in this area and additional dedicated parking needs to be provided to avoid an unacceptable impact on highway safety. We consider in its present form the application should be refused planning permission.
Yours sincerely
A C Renshaw
For the Westbury on Trym Society
The Westbury on Trym Society is a local amenity society which was founded in 1972 to help look after the amenities, landscape and heritage of Westbury on Trym, particularly its 1300 year old village. The Society commented on the initial application to Bristol City Council as although the application is sited in the Southmead ward, it would have an impact on Westbury on Trym.
The siting of the proposed buildings has been moved from the initial application to Bristol City Council, so that it no longer impacts directly on the trees that were previously impacted. However, we note that the new siting requires the crown and spread of the two semi mature wild cherry trees to be reduced and there is a semi mature oak very close by. These trees will not be able to reach full maturity without causing issues due to their proximity to the development, which we consider will create a need to remove them in the future. This is a particular issue with regard to the oak which can be expected to have a very long life and grow to a substantial size. We do not believe the siting as now proposed will enable this to happen resulting in a loss of a tree of significance.
We previously noted that the development site is currently a staff car park and the planning statement said that it is only ‘informally used as parking from time to time by members of staff. It is not used as an official car park’. Our observations were that vehicles were regularly parked there (see photo below) and this is now confirmed by the transport consultant’s report. There is no parking available outside of the car parking area during the day due to the adjoining Greenway centre, which is also extremely busy and parking from there overflows into the nearby residential streets, of which Greystoke Avenue acts as an important through route.
The transport statement includes a car parking survey undertaken on a Tuesday and Saturday in June 2024. This demonstrates that the car parking including the additional 20 spaces to be occupied by the spa is already near capacity, which our own observations confirm. Indeed some spare capacity is needed to enable a space to be found. A reduction of 8 spaces is now proposed.
The investment in new and better facilities is no doubt designed to attract more members and use of the facilities and consequently more parking. If parking cannot be accommodated at David Lloyd, users will have no option but to try to park on Greystoke Avenue, which would create a hazard to road safety.
We consider that the siting of this proposal needs further review to avoid adverse impacts on the tree coverage in this area and additional dedicated parking needs to be provided to avoid an unacceptable impact on highway safety. We consider in its present form the application should be refused planning permission.
Yours sincerely
A C Renshaw
For the Westbury on Trym Society
