Revised plans submitted for Premier Inn, Aldi and Costa in Stoke Gifford

The company behind proposals for a new mixed-use development on vacant land to the rear of Sainsbury’s in Stoke Gifford has submitted a suite of revised plans in an effort to address concerns raised by planning officials at South Gloucestershire Council (SGC).

The development site lies between Great Stoke Way (the dual carriageway leading to Abbey Wood Roundabout) and Fox Den Road (the road providing access to Sainsbury’s, The Range, Lidl, Bargain Buys and Everlast Fitness Club).

The proposals include an Aldi supermarket, a Costa drive-through, a Premier Inn hotel and a Beefeater restaurant.

Vehicles would enter and leave the site via a single access point off Fox Den Road, close to the Sainsbury’s delivery yard.

After assessing the original plans, SGC’s planning policy department raised “significant concerns” over the type of retail space being proposed and questioned whether the scheme would make efficient use of the land.

Concerns were also raised over the number of mature trees that would be felled around the perimeter of the site and the “particularly bleak” appearance of the proposed 265-space car park.

In the revised plans, the hotel has been moved further away from the eastern boundary, allowing an increased landscape buffer to Fox Den Road.

Additional tree planting is proposed along Great Stoke Way and some of the better-quality existing trees will be retained.

The number of parking spaces has been reduced to 240 and there will be a minimum of one tree for every six parking bays with additional planting along the main pedestrian route through the car park.

The original 16 disabled and nine parent/child spaces are retained and the number of electric vehicle charging points is increased from three to ten.

The external elevations of the hotel building have been given more interest through the use of copper and bronze coloured panel in focussed areas. Additionally, glazing has been introduced into a stair core that faces the Aviva roundabout, to reduce its prominence and “present activity to the street”.

At the request of highways officers, the applicant has also agreed to fund improvements to an existing informal pedestrian crossing on Great Stoke Way, close to the Aviva roundabout.

In relation to a council policy which calls for a significant element of ‘comparison shopping’ (for more expensive goods bought less frequently) to be provided within the district centre, the applicant repeats a previous claim that this requirement is “out of date, does not reflect the changing retail market, and is not achievable in this location”.

A suggestion that a residential element might be included to improve “efficiency of land use” is dismissed by the applicant on the grounds of “lack of market demand … or viability constraints”.

The plans include an additional two-story ‘multi-use building’ but this would not be built until justified by market demand. In the interim, it would be substituted with a ‘pocket park’.

View hi-res versions of the above visualisation images at https://bit.ly/2PToBun (Dropbox)

More information and related links:

• Planning application P20/05916/F (SGC)
• Retail Development at Fox Den Road (The Journal)

At the time of writing, the application remains open to public comment – via the ‘Make a comment’ button on the SGC planning portal (see link above). Registration may be required if you haven’t previously commented on a planning application.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2021 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on pages 28 & 29). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.