Consultation on access to the cycle path

So, yet another round of consultation is taking place on the Elizabeth Shaw Chocolate Factory, despite the fact that in April 2009 the Council made its decision to grant planning permission for the development.

It seems odd that in the current economy, where investment in regeneration development has almost ceased along with the loss of many jobs, that one which aims to breathe new life in to derelict buildings and create around 600 jobs over the next 3-4 years, is once again held up by yet more consultation.

..breathe new life in to derelict buildings and create around 600 jobs over the next 3-4 years...

Shouldn’t Bristol be welcoming what is possibly the most sustainable mixed use regeneration scheme in the country, rather than causing further delays, which are now jeopardising its future?

Why were the cycle houses designed in this way?

Support for the groundbreaking cycle houses designed by George Ferguson, incidentally one of the original supporters and workers who helped create the cycle path, is strong.

So why is there so much suspicion about the motives for the cycle houses? Is it hard to believe that they might just have been designed because the architects truly believed they will improve the environment along the cycle path and by creating a natural surveillance, work for the community? Who knows, they could even play a part in Bristol’s future as a cycling city.

The cycle house concept was not designed in isolation but in consultation with Sustrans. They were also a significant element of the original vision for the development; residents being able to access Bristol’s cycle network directly from their homes.

...not designed in isolation but in consultation with Sustrans...

What is the difference between having access from a terrace of cycle houses to a grass verge and then to the cycle path to having access from a terrace of Victorian houses to the pavement and road. For the cycle house the grass verge is the pavement and the cycle path is the road. Some may see this as different, but that doesn’t make it wrong.

There have been suggestions that access to the cycle path could be potentially dangerous. Perhaps we have not explained there is a controlled access gate for both security and child safety at the house entrance. The access is also set back from the actual path to allow a good line of vision- just as a pavement would.

It is a fact the cycle houses are one of the main reasons why the scheme has been received so positively by potential funders and why even now, it could still go ahead where so many others have fallen by the wayside.

The landscape plan intends to improve the vegetation and support the eco system with wildlife trails.

Placing the Chocolate Factory in jeopardy

That fact that Squarepeg was able to attract development money in the current climate is a credit to the vision of the scheme, if this vision is compromised the entire scheme could be compromised. Investors chose the Chocolate Factory over other schemes because of its individuality & vision and the cycle homes played a significant role in this decision. Funders bought in to a scheme that included cycle houses with individual access – the scheme the Council’s planning members gave permission to proceed in April.

The reality of the current marketplace is that there is limited availability of development funding and serious competition for the limited funds available.

Having found a potential funder for the £40 million project, Squarepeg has demonstrated its faith in the city.

Bristol recently lost BBC’s Casualty to Cardiff, this potentially cost the City £27 million and many, many jobs. The City has very few new development or regeneration projects taking place or going through the planning process, certainly nothing that offers the mixed regeneration and job opportunities of the Chocolate Factory and yet it seems prepared to jeopardise this. Perhaps that should be the real subject of the consultation, what would the people of Bristol say to that?

www.bristol.gov.uk/chocfactoryconsultation