Homes approved despite parking shortfall concerns

Plans for 154 homes near the M4 have been approved despite concerns about a shortfall in visitor parking.

Planning and highways officers were happy with the proposals of the second half of Mulgrove Farm Village, near Bristol, despite a shortfall of three visitor parking spaces compared with the requirements under South Gloucestershire Council policy.

The site on former agricultural land will include 57 affordable homes.

Echoing concerns raised by Stoke Gifford Parish Council, South Gloucestershire councillor Neel Das Gupta said while the shortfall "may seem minor on paper" even "small shortfalls can have long-term consequences".

He said the pressure on parking at the estate, which is north of the railway line between Stoke Gifford bypass and the B4427 Old Gloucester Road, could lead to overspill and blocked pavements.

"While three spaces might seem negligible, it could very well be the difference between a well-functioning neighbourhood and one where parking is a daily frustration for residents," he added.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, parish councillor Andrew Shore asked for the plans to be deferred and requested developers Wain Homes to remove one or two houses to make more room for visitor spaces.

Highways officer Myles Kidd said they were required to be flexible with their policies and the first half of Mulgrove Farm Village, which is nearly complete, had 20 more visitor spaces than required.

John Rhys-Davies, of Wain Homes, told councillors there were no more spaces available without compromising the wider design objectives of creating attractive, well-landscaped, pedestrian-friendly streets.

He said: "The site is highly accessible. There are many bus services, walking and cycle links and it is a short distance from Parkway Station.

"There are 154 much-needed homes, of which 57 are affordable, which is 20 more than we are required to provide under the section 106 [developers' contributions] agreement."

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.