FAQ & Document Library FAQ
If you have anything you would like to ask us, please send your questions via the enquiry form. We will provide answers to the most frequently asked questions.
- Why do we need more homes?
- Is this the right location?
- Can you build in the Greenbelt?
- What will the proposals deliver?
- Will there be a focus to the scheme, or will it just be houses?
- How will transport and movement be handled?
- Do the proposals include any green space?
- How will flooding being controlled?
- How will energy use be minimised?
- What is the timescale for a planning application?
- How will the development be phased?
- How does this proposal fit with the Football Club relocation plans?
- How have you taken account of ground constraints, ecology and cultural heritage?
- How will the proposals be integrated into the landscape?
- Why will this development be different from suburban housing estates?
- Can we get involved in shaping the proposals?
- Who are LandTrust Developments?
- Who will build the development?
- How will the quality of the scheme be controlled?
- Will the scheme still progress in a recession?
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Why do we need more homes?
The way we live our lives is changing – we are living longer, partnering later in life and are more likely to divorce. These social trends and the increasing role that Bristol is taking within the national economy that are driving the demand behind much of the forecast housing growth.
The draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South-West sets out proposals to accommodate the forecast levels of housing growth across the region. It has identified the need for an urban extension of up to 10,500 homes in the south-west of Bristol.
Ashton Park forms part of the proposals to accommodate the anticipated growth in the sub-region within the period to 2026.
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Is this the right location?
Planning for the future of Bristol is much more than simply judging where the city could take peripheral growth – it is about understanding how the city structure might evolve in the long-term and identifying opportunities to creating new places Bristol can be proud of.
The advantages of Ashton Park as the location for the south-west urban extension include:
- It is located within 3km of the city centre, helping to reduce the reliance on the car;
- It forms a ‘genuine’ physical extension to Bristol and is strategically located between the city centre and Bristol International Airport;
- It lies in close proximity to neighbourhoods that are working hard to regenerate themselves. This proximity offers a real opportunity to share the benefits from the new development such as job creation, business investment or new community facilities;
- It is well located on the A370 and the A38 – two major routes leading into the city;
- The development would support Bristol’s aspiration for vital transport infrastructure in the south-west of the city – providing strategic parts of a planned rapid transit link between the city centre and the airport and a new
western relief road that will help to link up currently poorly connected parts of the city; - The site is located well within the natural limits of Bristol as defined by topography and the visual envelope of the city. Development on the south-west fringes moves away from continued growth in the north of the city and aims to rebalance this dominance.
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Can you build in the Greenbelt?
The periphery of Bristol lies within ‘Green Belt’. However, it is recognised within the region’s plans that it will be necessary to build on some green belt land if Bristol’s housing needs are to be met.
Trying to accommodate all the necessary homes on brownfield land would result in unacceptable property densities, reduce green space within the city and impact on availability of land for other uses, for example, employment.
Analysis has been undertaken to establish whether this land can be taken out of Green Belt without harming the wider purposes. The review of the South West Bristol landscape and topography indicates that this can be achieved and that this is the most suitable site, relative to other possible locations around the city.
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What will the proposals deliver?
- A new part of Bristol that has an equally close relationship to the city and the North Somerset countryside;
- Approximately 10,000 new homes (including affordable housing);
- 7,000 new jobs (including a mix of office, research and light industry);
- Community facilities such as six schools (primary and secondary), nurseries, a library, a leisure / sports centre and health centres to provide for the new population;
- A foodstore and local retail units together with pubs, cafes and restaurants;
- A modern rapid transport system that connects the new district with the city centre and other important destinations such as the airport. New road links between the A370 and the A38 will also be created;
- Publicly accessible open spaces and parks, linked by a network of footpaths
and cycle ways for recreation and access to the city centre or open
countryside; - Integrated wildlife features to bring nature into the city; these will include green roofs, new planting and managed greenroutes which provide safe routes for wildlife to move through the development;
- Low energy buildings that utilise locally sourced renewable energy and grey
water; - Strategies are being developed to minimise waste, water usage and energy
consumption are being built in from the outset. A sustainable energy plant to provide electricity and heat for the new development is also being considered; - Pedestrian friendly streets that use shared-space principles;
- Buildings, streets and spaces designed to make the most of the rolling topography and the views.
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Will there be a focus to the scheme, or will it just be houses?
Ashton Park will be made up of a series of distinct neighbourhoods, each with their own character, identity and mix of uses. However each neighbourhood will share access to high quality community facilities – bringing residents together, reinforcing community cohesion and discouraging car use.
At Ashton Park local shops, community facilities and primary schools will be within a 5 / 10 minute walk (400 metres) for the majority of residents. To achieve this, the illustrative masterplan includes a number of centres:
- a District Centre – the focus of the development including a foodstore, local retail, a pub / restaurant, a health centre, community centre (including library), hotel, offices and higher density living.
- a Neighbourhood Centre – located in the northern part of the district within close proximity to Ashton Vale. The centre will include a small food store, local retail, a pub / restaurant, a community centre, a health centre and a primary school.
- three Local Centres – including primary schools, local shops and community facilities.
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How will transport and movement be handled?
The transport concept for Ashton Park creates a movement network which enhances existing infrastructure provision and provides for new links to increase accessibility to jobs, schools, retail and leisure facilities.
At the centre of the proposals is an extension to the planned Bus Rapid Transit corridor between Temple Meads Station, the Bristol City Centre and Ashton Vale. This would serve the new development area, it’s neighbourhoods, schools and District Centre and create a direct link through to Bristol International Airport.
New Rapid Transit vehicles will run on a traffic free route and will be given priority over other road users at traffic lights. Improved service frequencies and new bus services combined with state-of-the-art waiting facilities, real time journey information and new ticketing and payment technologies will bring greater reliability to the local bus network, improve local accessibility and journey times.
As well as new public transport routes and services, there will be a need to provide essential infrastructure to allow vehicle access to and from and through the development area.
New junctions will be created to provide access into the development area from both the A370 Long Ashton Bypass and A38. A new link connecting these existing routes is proposed and would help deliver strategic proposals promoted by the Local Authorities for a link between Long Ashton Bypass and South Bristol.
The new link would provide access to the development area and adjacent development proposals at Barrow Hospital, improve surface access to BIA and reduce traffic on some key routes including Winterstoke Road, Kings Head Lane, Parsons Street and through Barrow Gurney.
Within the new development area the layout of the new neighbourhoods and links between them and day to day facilities such as employment schools, recreation and leisure will encourage movement by walking and cycling.
A network of streets and spaces will protect, enhance and provide for new formal and recreational routes creating high quality dedicated vehicle free links within the development and allowing access to adjacent communities of Ashton Vale, Highridge and Long Ashton. More strategic routes will also be provided along the main vehicle and public transport routes enabling connections into the City and South Bristol.
A sustainable approach to transport will include a Local Travel Centre located within the development providing access to a range of facilities and services including Cycle Hire, Car Clubs, Public Transport Information / ticketing facilities that will allow people to live, visit, work and play in an environment without reliance on the car.
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Do the proposals include any green space?
Development at Ashton Park will provide a minimum of 60 hectares of open space. This includes playing fields, areas of natural green space, areas for informal recreation, neighbourhood parks, allotments, footpaths and cycle routes, ecological habitats and flood risk management. Each resident of the development will be within a 5-10 minute walk (400m) of high quality green space and local play space will be provided within all neighbourhoods.
Green spaces will be connected by a network of corridors, which will also link existing areas of green land and ecological habitats.
We are proposing two primary and a number of secondary green infrastructure corridors:
- The largest corridor runs between Yanley Ridge and the railway line, connecting Bedminster Down with the open countryside to the west. This corridor will include informal recreational space, areas for wildlife and a network of footpaths and cycleways connecting the new neighbourhoods with each other, with the existing edge of Bristol and the surrounding countryside.
- The second corridor runs east to west along an existing stream corridor and will become a significant linear park. It will maintain and improve existing wildlife corridors and will incorporate surface water attenuation for the development.
- The masterplan includes a number of smaller green corridors running along existing streams. These provide valuable connections for people and wildlife and will help to shape the character of the different neighbourhoods.
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How will flooding being controlled?
Ashton Park will be protected against a 1 in 100 year severe storm event plus an additional allowance which takes into consideration climate change. This protection will be achieved by ensuring flows are maintained within the river banks, dedicated flood meadows and ponds.
The surface water drainage system will be designed to prevent flooding even in the most severe storm event. Additional flows resulting roads, roofs, parking and other hardstanding areas, will be controlled to prevent overwhelming existing watercourses. The excess flows from the development will be attenuated in ponds, underground tanks and dedicated flood meadows. The ponds and flood meadows will be designed to create habitats to improve the local environment.
The foul drainage system within homes and businesses will be designed to minimise water use and to introduce greater efficiency.
The unlikely scenario of flooding resulting from breach of the existing reservoirs located upstream of the development site has also been taken into account within the masterplan.
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How will energy use be minimised?
Ashton Park aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that new homes will emit – from burning gas in boilers for heating, and cooking and from using electricity for lighting and appliances. This means new homes will need to use less energy (for example – by having better insulation) but also that new homes should source their energy from low and zero carbon sources, such as solar panels.
For Ashton Park, one of the most-effective ways to provide this energy is using a district heat and power network. This is where a central energy centre supplies heat to buildings via hot water carried through a network of underground pipes and the energy centre can also provide electricity to homes.
The masterplan makes provision for an energy centre and work is currently being undertaken to establish the best way forward to implement this facility.
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What is the timescale for a planning application?
An outline planning application was submitted in August 2009. This application will determine the overall format of the scheme such as the areas to be developed, the mix of uses, community benefits and infrastructure such as Sustainable Drainage Systems.
The detailed issues, such as what buildings will look like and the materials they will be built out of, will be determined by a series of detailed applications as each phase is bought forward for development.
This approach enables us to ensure that the development phases work together properly – such as provision of transport links, energy proposals or community facilities – and that we can be flexible to take account changing future circumstances.
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How will the development be phased?
It is anticipated that development at Ashton Park will be delivered over a 15 year period from 2010 /2011 to meet the draft Regional Spatial Strategy timeframe.
The phasing approach is based upon the following assumptions :
- The early phases of development will be focused along the central spine to help deliver the strategic rapid transit corridor within the first five years of the development;
- The District Centre (including shops, cafes, employment and housing ) will be completed within the first five years to create genuinely mixed use development and provide a central focus for the new community from the outset;
- Schools, other community facilities and employment will be provided in each relevant phase alongside the housing ;
- Each phase will provide a mix of different house types to encourage a mixed community profile and ensure a varied offer;
- Green infrastructure will be provided over time, with areas required for landscapeand ecological mitigation included in the earlier phases to allow for their maturity;
- Development will commence in more than one location to minimise the impact on the existing existing network.
The overall phasing and delivery of the development will be determined by the demand for housing and market conditions.
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How does this proposal fit with the Football Club relocation plans?
Bristol City Football Club are proposing to relocate to an new stadium at Ashton Vale. The club is working on a planning application for a 30,000 seat stadium at the 42-acre site which borders the David Lloyd fitness centre and the Long Ashton park and ride.
LandTrust Developments are working with the promoters of the Football Club proposals to ensure the masterplans fiit together. This includes making sure that the cumulative impact of both developments have been understood and properly planned for – particularly in issues such as transport modelling or flood prevention.
For further information, visit www.bcfc.co.uk
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How have you taken account of ground constraints, ecology and cultural heritage?
The development framework has been shaped by ongoing study of the site and its constraints and opportunities – including topography, the relationship to surrounding settlements, landscape and visual consideration, ground constraints, ecology and cultural heritage.
Some of the ‘headline’ considerations that have informed the shape of the masterplan are summarised below:
Ground constraints
There are several former landfill sites within Ashton Park – one to the north and three to the south of the railway line. These have been restored and are now difficult to distinguish from the surrounding landscape. The landfill at Yanley at the centre of the site is still in operation and is scheduled to be closed in 2009.
Ecology
Surveys for plants, habitats, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects have been undertaken over the last two years. Unsurprisingly for a site of this size, Ashton Park provides habitat for bats and great crested newts, as well as populations of slow worms and other reptiles, together with a range of other flora and fauna. These findings have helped to shape the development of the proposed framework plan and green infrastructure proposals.
Cultural heritage
The archaeological remains, historic buildings and the historic landscape of the Ashton Park site and its vicinity have been assessed. Among the few historic buildings within the site are two Grade II Listed Buildings at Colliter’s Brook Farm and Castle Farm, which will be retained as part of the proposed development.
Some of the hedge lines on site are of historic interest, as is the bank which is followed by Monarch’s Way public footpath. Yanley Lane and its hedgerows is also considered to be of potential archaeological interest.
Ashton Court Estate, a Registered Historic Parkland, is located close to the north-eastern site boundary. Views from the Estate have been considered in developing the proposals.
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How will the proposals be integrated into the landscape?
The sensitivity of different areas of the site to change has been tested. The upper slopes of the hills to the south of the A38, and in the vicinity of Yanley Ridge and the village of Long Ashton have been highlighted as sensitive to development. The proposed development will be mainly located within areas of lower sensitivity between the A38 and the A370.
Development at Ashton Park will be integrated into the surrounding landscape by:
- maintaining a significant green corridor connecting the Avon Gorge and Bristol City Centre with the wider North Somerset countryside;
- maintaining the continuity and relationship slopes and ridge of Bedminster Down, the Yanley Ridge, and the countryside beyond;
- protecting the setting of the important historic landscape at Ashton Court;
- protecting the setting of Long Ashton; and
- protecting the green backdrop provided by Dundry Hill with development generally to be kept below the 80m contour in this location.
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Why will this development be different from suburban housing estates?
To date, the majority of housing growth has been focused on either city centre apartment living or developing estates of semi-detached housing in the suburbs. But there is a missing ‘middle’ ground that reflects the values of the inner city suburbs or village living – such as community identity and access to facilities or services.
A new model of accommodating household growth is needed. This model needs to address the main drivers of new homes – providing for smaller households and addressing affordability – but needs to also face up to climate change and the need to build genuinely low carbon environments in communities where people want to live.
The principles driving our model are:
- Focusing on creating places for people and enabling communities to develop
- Prioritising the delivery of the Bus Rapid Transit scheme from the outset so people have real choices about the way they travel
- Building a wide choice of homes – across size, format and tenure – and that are accessible to those in all income brackets
- Balancing residential densities to deliver neighbourhoods that have community facilities with walking distance, but provide housing that is able to provide the valued qualities of privacy and green space
- Using the features of the area to develop neighbourhoods that have their own identity and are clearly recognisable as belonging to that place
- Placing great importance on trees and other vegetation in public spaces, the network of publicly accessible parks and green corridors and the strong network of footpath and cycle ways to provide access within the development and to the countryside or the city;
- Employing community-wide energy technologies to make a real impact on lowering carbon emissions
- Recognising different people want to live their life in differing ways – therefore building in flexible places (such as opportunities for local enterprise or community activity) or spaces (such as opportunities to play or grow food)
- Ensuring Ashton Park is designed to have an equally close relationship to the city and the countryside
- Fitting our context – particularly in terms of the contribution we can make to the supporting the aspirations of adjoining communities such as employment creation in south Bristol or reducing traffic flow in Barrow Gurney
- Operating management models that give communities a greater say in how their neighbourhoods are shaped and run.
- Delivering these principles sets a great challenge for Ashton Park and the way we provide housing generally. However, if we can achieve it, we create the new model for the future.
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Can we get involved in shaping the proposals?
The masterplan shows the emerging development framework for the new district. The plan indicates locations for development and explores development densities, character and the mix of uses. This is constantly evolving as we take on board peoples aspirations, views and opinions and consider the implications of further technical evidence.
Please provide us with your comments on the scheme. Your responses will help inform our on-going work to develop the scheme.
You can contact the team via the Contact Us page of this website.
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Who are LandTrust Developments?
LandTrust Developments are a Midlands based developer. We are committed to bringing forward Ashton Park and believe we can successfully achieve this through:
- The experience of our people across a range and scale of developments within the Midlands, South East and East of England,
- Our landownership or control of most of the site,
- The emphasis we place on the quality of public spaces and places we create,
- The level of design control we require developments to adhere to, and
- An ongoing management and maintenance role, which we will retain.
For more information visit www.landtrustdevelopments.com
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Who will build the development?
Due to the scale of he scheme, a number of differing developers will be responsible for building the phases or development parcels. This will include housebuilders and those who specialise in facilities such as shops or offices.
LandTrust Developments will select developers to work with that they believe will show the same level of commitment to the site but no specific housebuilders or developers have not yet been identified.
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How will the quality of the scheme be controlled?
A key element of control is provided by the way LandTrust Developments operate. Having acquired control of the land, the company works to prepare the way for development, addressing a broad range of issues from obtaining planning permission to resolving drainage and access problems and putting in place the appropriate transport and service infrastructure.
It then sets out and agrees the design specification for the total development to ensure consistently high quality standards and adherence to all appropriate design criteria through legal agreements prior to detailed planning applications. =
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Will the scheme still progress in a recession?
Ashton Park is a long term proposal which requires commitment from LandTrust Development during bust or boom economic cycles. Work to take forward the scheme will continue over the coming year.
