Avon Gorge too special to spoil says Williams

"Protect the Avon Gorge" says Bristol West's Prospective Lib Dem MP Stephen Williams.

Planners have been urged to reject the application for 5-a-side soccer pitches on the Portway. Stephen Williams, the prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West, claims that the proposal by Goals Soccer Centres plc to erect 11 pitches will spoil the Avon Gorge.

"The Avon Gorge is a unique natural feature that makes Bristol such a special place. Nothing should be allowed to spoil it!"

A full copy of the statement to the planning committee is reproduced below:

STATEMENT TO PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING 23 FEBRUARY 2005 BY STEPHEN WILLIAMS, PROSPECTIVE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MP FOR BRISTOL WEST

RE: APPLICATION 04/03022/F/N FORMER BRISTOL & WEST SPORTS GROUND, THE PORTWAY

I urge members of the planning committee to refuse this application. The proposal is contrary to the Local Plan and the committee's policies in several respects. There is no clear and over-riding reason to depart from the Local Plan on this occasion.

The application is effectively for an intensive use commercial venture that will be an unsightly intrusion into the Avon Valley. In the Local Plan the site falls within the Sneyd Park Conservation Area, a wildlife network site and is designated as historic landscape. It is the foreground of the Bishops Knoll Historic Garden and the Sneed Park Nature Reserve. Such planning terminology alone should be sufficient to suggest that the application is not suitable for this area. But to most ordinary Bristolians the Avon Valley and the Avon Gorge are features that make our city such a special place and nothing should be allowed to spoil them.

Goals Soccer Centres plc propose to erect 11 all weather 5-a-side pitches, a new clubhouse, a car park and floodlighting. If ever there was an application suitable for siting on a brownfield site, this is it! The site will be floodlit until after 9pm, which will cause light pollution in the approach to the Gorge on most evenings in the year. The 121 car spaces do not seem sufficient for at least 110 players plus referees plus spectators, and of course those waiting their turn for use of the pitch. Can we be sure that the applicant will not soon be back asking for more spaces? The most intensive use will be in the evenings when there is no public transport along the Portway to serve the site.

The light and noise will disturb the residents at Bishops Knoll and potentially distress the badgers, owls and other wildlife. It is possible that the noise will echo along the Gorge. It will certainly spoil the enjoyment of boat trips along the river.

The conditions attached to the use of the pavilion are ambiguous. It must be assumed that corporate hire of the site will include social use of the pavilion for staff to drink and eat after games. This will further add to the number of people on site. The business model of the applicant is very likely to be dependent on catering and drink sales, rather than mere pitch hire fees. It would be naïve not to expect the applicant to come back for full "A3" use of the site once the pavilion has become established as an entertainment venue.

Please do not be seduced by the applicant's kind offer of free community use on weekdays. The figure given in the applicant's presentation document of 62% schools use is questionable as it assumes full use of all pitches from 9am to 5pm every day - not a likely scenario. What school will need to use the site? The council is investing in sports facilities at The Portway School. The re-built Henbury School will have enhanced facilities. The Bristol Academy of Sport is being built at Filton. The university has facilities at Coombe Dingle. There appears to be no pressing community need for more pitches in north Bristol.

This application is a commercial venture that will only succeed if it is intensively used by fee-paying clients. There is a danger that this is a "foot in the door" application that will soon lead to applications for more car parking and more intensive commercial uses of the site. Do you really want to set a precedent for commercial development along the Avon Gorge? Many years ago your predecessors famously threw out a commercial application for a new hotel at the Clifton end of the Gorge. They sent a signal that this feature that is unique to a British city was not to be spoiled. You can repeat that signal today.

Councillors and officers spend hours developing plans and policies to protect our city and to allow development that does not damage the fabric of Bristol's natural or built environment. You should only depart from the safeguards you have developed when there is an over-riding and compelling community need. Your recent decision on the Redland School was an example. But the application before you does not fall into this category. There is no public clamour for more 5-a-side pitches. They are not needed and they are certainly not needed at this sensitive location.

Please stick to your policies and the Local Plan and reject this application and suggest to your officers that they assist the applicant in a search for a more suitable site.