Below are outlined major land use planning applications which the Parish Council considers at its monthly meetings – see its meeting papers and decisions and how to speak at its meetings here.
See background to planning in Timsbury here, and planning News here.
The Parish Council can only comment on applications to B&NES Council who make the decision. See the B&NES planning page here and search for Timsbury.
Upper Conygre site / old ‘Wheelers’, North Road
Updated October 2021
The planning application to develop the derelict site at the corner of North Road and The Avenue was approved in March 2020 by B&NES Council. 26 new houses will be built, plus some office spaces. There will be a new road onto North Road and pedestrian facilities. This follows much consultation by the owner with the Parish Council and the village during 2018.
The development will be called ‘Upper Conygre’ after the name of the coal mine on the site which was in use from 1791 until 1916. Since then it was ‘Wheelers Yard’ which was a cement block works. The Lower Conygre pit was off Radford Hill. Building will start soon with completion in stages in 2022. The development in summary will include:
- 26 dwellings, mainly houses plus some flats, with 8 ‘affordable’ as 5 ‘social rented’ and 3 ‘shared ownership’ by the owner.
- 70 parking spaces
- Offices with extra parking as required in this ‘mixed use’ site in the B&NES Local Plan
- Widening of the pavement on the Avenue up to the bend, and new pavements in North Road
- Pedestrian access through the site from The Avenue to North Road
- New highway entrance on North Road with a speed table
- Extension of the 20mph zone to include the whole site
- Protection of wildlife and some trees linked to the batch next door, plus new trees and landscaping
- Renewable energy & efficiency on houses
In May 2021 the developer applied under Permitted Planning rules to build 4 more small homes instead of the offices, claiming that having marketed the site for a year there is no demand for the offices. Timsbury PC supported this application. THis was denied by B&NES IN June 2022.
Once the building is finished £56,000 of funding will be provided by the developer for play & Recreation on the Conygre Recreation field held and managed by B&NES Council.
Highways changes of the entrance and pavements is being negoatiated with B&NES Highways under a separate Section ‘278 agreement’. The pedestrian ramp onto the site is being moved closer to the crossroads due to the levels being more approriate. The Avenue pavement has been widned to 1.5m which is a normal width even in busy urban streets.
Also, in Sept. 2021 the developer paid the Parish Council £50,216 Community Infrastructure Levy funding to pay for facilities and services in the village. It must be spent within the next five years. See details here. The PC has carried out a conusltation with the village on options how to use this money. Final decisions yet to be made at June 2022.
In addition, B&NES Council is working with the Parish Council to find a way to widen the pavement on the bend on The Avenue, which is not part of this development. In all of the design options the protected large trees on the bank will not be adversely effected, according to the B&NES Tree Officer.
The naming of the site as ‘Upper Conygre’ was requested by the village in memory of the name of the coal pit on the site, with an information board at the entrance to the site.
Details of the application are on the B&NES website here.
A Plan of the site can be seen here – click image below to open or download a pdf here.
Land south of Loves Hill for up to 45 houses
The Government Planning Inspector dismissed (26th Jan 2017) the developer’s Appeal (APP/F0114/W/16/3154927) against Bath&NES decision to refuse outline planning permission for this.
The reasons given for his decision included:
- The site lies just outside the housing development boundary of Timsbury.
- The site is part of the less well developed western approach to the village fronting on to a narrow, enclosed lane that would require improvement that would significantly alter the existing approach to the village.
- The new buildings would appear as a prominent feature that would further erode the rural character of this side of the village.
- The development would fail to conserve or enhance the distinctive character of the area and the wider landscape.
Since then another separate outline application for 20 houses on the same site (16/04260/OUT) was withdrawn by the developers on 1st February 2017 when they had heard that B&NES were likely to refuse it on similar grounds.
A lot of effort had been made by residents and the Parish Council in making the case against this application which was not included in the B&NES Placemaking Plan for Timsbury.