A DEVELOPER has made an opening move in a bid to build 300 new homes near Emersons Green.
The site at Rock House Farm, Shortwood, is one of several east of the Avon Ring Road which currently lie in the Green Belt but could be developed, if South Gloucestershire Council’s draft Local Plan is approved by an inspector.
The site lies between the ring road, Main Road in Shortwood, Cattybrook Road and the B4465 Shortwood Road, which links Emersons Green and Pucklechurch.
Although it is expected to be a year before a decision is made on the Local Plan, developer Lightwood Strategic Ltd has made an early move showing its intentions for the site by submitting documents to the council showing that it wants to build 300 homes there.
The developer has asked for a “screening opinion” from the council, which asks whether it will need to make an environmental impact assessment alongside a future planning application, to assess “any likely significant effects of the proposed development on the environment”.
Its document, submitted by agents Pegasus Group, says it intends to build “up to 300 dwellings, a community hub, open space, landscaping and all associated infrastructure and highway access” on 13.3 hectares (about 33 acres) of agricultural grazing land, plus Rock House Farm and its associated buildings.
An outline planning application will follow for the site, which will be accessed from the southern end of Cattybrook Road, close to Main Road, Shortwood.
The document says the plans will also include “internal cycle and pedestrian connections”, public open space and new landscape planting.
The developer says it also plans to “safeguard” existing boundary hedgerows and trees.
The agents said: “The proposed development will take approximately five years to complete once the construction phase commences.”
Rock House Farm is on the opposite side of the ring road to Pomphrey Hill North playing field. On its eastern side it is next to a council designated Site of Interest for Nature Conservation.
The site is one of several where up to 2,000 homes could be built between Siston Hill and Shortwood if the new Local Plan is approved.
Last month the Voice reported that the two parish councils whose boundaries encompass the area – Siston and Pucklechurch – opposed the Local Plan, saying it was “driven by profit-hungry developers at the expense of local people and the planet”.
The developer’s document can be viewed and comments made by searching for application P25/005/SCR on South Glos council’s planning website, or visiting tinyurl.com/3y54kf5p.