STRATEGIC PROMOTION OF THE FORMER BARROW HOSPITAL SITE, WILD COUNTRY LANE, BARROW GURNEY Submissions to North Somerset Core Strategy On behalf of Del Piero Limited October 2009 GVA Grimley Ltd St Catherines Court Berkeley Place, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1BQ [email protected] 08449 02 03 04 www.gvagrimley.co.uk www.gvagrimley.co.uk Strategic Promotion of the Former Barrow Hospital Site, Wild Country Lane, Barrow Gurney Del Piero Limited October 2009 www.gvagrimley.co.uk Del Piero Limited Final Draft Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 2. PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT....................................................................................................4 3. SUSTAINABLE FUTURE GROWTH OF THE NORTHERN PART OF NORTH SOMERSET ....12 4. SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS AND TRANSPORTATION CONSIDERATIONS.................14 5. EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS ..........................................................................................21 6. GREEN BELT CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................24 7. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................26 Appendices – bound in separate document Appendix 1: Site location plan and site ownership plan Appendix 2: Planning consent reference: 07/AP/2237/F Appendix 3: Origin Park Marketing information Appendix 4: Extract from Regional Spatial Strategy Area of Search 1A Appendix 5: LandTrust Developments Illustrative masterplan (ref: 09/P/1445/0T2) Appendix 6: Proposed Green Belt Boundary Revision – by Del Piero Limited Appendix 7: Bristol International Airport Illustrative masterplan (ref:09/P/1020/0T2) Appendix 8: Bristol City Football Stadium Illustrative masterplan (ref:09/P/1061/F2) Appendix 9: Bristol University illustrative masterplan promoted at public consultation event Sept 09 Appendix 10: Proposed masterplan and site layout for major employment allocation at Barrow (source Angus Meek Architects) Appendix 11: Evidence to demonstrate office/employment take up in North Somerset 10 year period to 2008 Appendix 12: Extract from GVA Grimley Regional Airport Research May 2007 Appendix 13: Extract from Travel to Work & Urban Areas of the South West Region – February 2005 (source: South West Observatory on behalf of South West Regional Assembly) Appendix 14: Plan 0064 013 – Plan illustrating how Barrow can be serviced by existing and proposed public transport links October 2009 Del Piero Limited Final Draft Appendix 15: Extract from North Somerset Employment Annual Monitoring Report 2008 – to show percentage of development within Use Class B1 Appendix 16: Arup – Employment Densities A Full Guide – 2001 Appendix 17: Extract from North Somerset Employment Annual Monitoring Report 2008 – to show percentage of North Somerset Council Residents who travel on a daily basis in excess of 10km to work October 2009 Del Piero Limited Final Draft 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The former Barrow Hospital site is located south west of Bristol, approximately 5.8 Kilometres (or 3.6miles) from Bristol City Centre and 3miles from Bristol International Airport. It is located between the A38 to the south and the A370 (Long Ashton Bypass) to the north. The site is currently accessed off the B3130 Weston Road and then Wild Country Lane, Barrow Gurney. (Appendix 1). 1.2 The site was operational as a hospital until July 2006 by Avon & Wiltshire NHS Mental Health Partnership. In 2006, the existing facility was relocated to Callington Road, South Bristol and a range of close care facilities within North Somerset’s administrative boundary. 1.3 The site area extends to 82.5hectares, part of which (38.1ha) is identified under policy RD/4 in the North Somerset Council Replacement Local Plan, adopted in March 2007 as a ‘major developed site (MDS) in the Green Belt’. The supporting text to policy RD/4 concluded the isolated nature of the location precluded the site from being suitable for additional residential development, identifying education, employment or leisure as appropriate redevelopment uses. The residual part of the estate comprises of semi-ancient and ancient woodland, farmland and hospital buildings. 1.4 The former hospital element comprised of a range of 1930’s one, two and three storey hospital buildings, none of which are deemed to have any architectural or historical merit. Since the site was allocated in the North Somerset Replacement Local Plan, it has been acquired by Del Piero Limited, who has secured planning permission (planning reference: 07A/P/2237/F – Appendix 2) to deliver 24,000sqm of new build B1 offices as part of the mixed use scheme. 1.5 Del Piero Limited (DPL) has since securing planning permission, discharged all the pre- commencement planning conditions, secured planning consent for two bat barns and commenced on a programme of measures associated with the ecological mitigation strategy. These works are also compliant with the DEFRA Licence secured from Natural England. 1.6 The site has been re-branded ‘Origin Park’ and actively marketed to occupiers at a national and regional level (Appendix 3). Promotion of Barrow Estate through Core Strategy October 2009 1 Del Piero Limited Final Draft 1.7 The former hospital site is located within the Area of Search 1A of the South West Regional Spatial Strategy, whish seeks to deliver 10,500 new homes as part of the south Bristol Urban Expansion, including 9,000 new homes within North Somerset and 1,500 new homes within the administrative boundary of Bristol (Appendix 4). 1.8 In August 2009, Land Trust Developments submitted an outline planning application to North Somerset Council (ref: 09/P/1445/0T2) to deliver 9,500 residential units as part of a planned urban expansion of Bristol. This application encompasses part of the former hospital site (owned by DPL) and proposes to locate the A370/A38 link road directly adjacent to the Barrow Hospital site (Appendix 5). This link road is a widely acknowledged key piece of infrastructure necessary to facilitate regeneration in south Bristol, ease existing traffic congestion, improve accessibility and deliver the planned growth. 1.9 This proposed link road arrangement, once approved and implemented, will provide the former hospital site with direct access to the A370 and create a prominent, accessible and sustainable destination of the business park. It will create a business park destination to service the northern part of North Somerset’s administrative boundary, south Bristol and Bristol International Airport; and, actively assist in the delivery of the 92 000 new jobs within the Bristol Travel to Work Area and provision of 352 hectares of employment land as set out in policy HMA1 of the emerging South West Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). 1.10 DPL strongly believes that their site has a critical role to play in delivering the Council’s economic and employment agenda for the northern sector of the administrative boundary in line with their existing Replacement Local Plan, Economic Strategy and the emerging RSS for the South West of England. It is however not dependant of the outcome of the RSS, which is subject to further sustainability work and further delays in adoption. Even in lieu of RSS Policy, a major employment destination and delivery of new jobs in the northern part of the administrative area of North Somerset is important to the long term economic stability of the area and established dormitory towns including Nailsea, Backwell, Long Ashton, Failand etc, as well as providing the critical mass to service a proposed new public transport infrastructure for the area. 1.11 With a direct access to the A370 and the release of the site from the Green Belt (in line with the approach set out in the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy and Core Strategy), the site can deliver a modern, sustainable, high quality business destination, set within a woodland setting of circa 17 hectares (circa 41acres) which could deliver in the region of 75,000 sqm of employment floorspace (Use Class B1). October 2009 2 Del Piero Limited Final Draft 1.12 The remainder of this paper will seek to set out the rationale and policy context to support this approach and to promote the former hospital site as an employment allocation in the emerging North Somerset Core Strategy. In recognising the potential of the site as a major employment destination in the Core Strategy, DPL is seeking the removal of their land interest from the Green Belt to enable a sufficient critical mass of B1 offices to be delivered to create a high quality and sustainable business development. This approach is entirely consistent with the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy. October 2009 3 Del Piero Limited Final Draft 2. PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT Introduction 2.1 Salient strategies and policies that inform and influence the pattern and location of development in North Somerset include the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) for the South West, the South West Regional Economic Study, the Joint Replacement Structure Plan, the West of England Joint Transport Plan, the North Somerset Replacement Local Plan and the emerging North Somerset Core Strategy. In addition to this there has been a number of evidence studies completed that inform both regional and local policy including the North Somerset Employment Land Study (2008) and the North Somerset Annual Monitoring Report (2008). These will be analysed in greater detail in