The impact of Waitrose and Barnhill Quarry Development in Chipping Sodbury

The following letter was recently published in the local Gazette and written by a local resident of Chipping Sodbury:

Public exhibitions for the Barnhill Quarry development have occurred in Chipping Sodbury organised by the marketing company trying to 'woo' the local population showing the perceived benefits and the supposed support for the scheme based on a very small sample of residents.

However there is a lot of information that the development does not promote on the real impact this will have on Chipping Sodbury and its residents. The following information has been obtained by talking to the developers and seeking information beyond that routinely published.

The development is for a very large supermarket, bigger than the Waitrose Supermarkets in Bath and Henleaze Bristol, near the church and graveyard. It will dominate this part of the town and transform its character.

The development is accompanied by 190 houses built on part of the site of the Barnhill Quarry. This is the site that was considered in the South Gloucestershire Minerals and Waste plan a few years ago as a possible infill site, but not selected at the time because it was too close to the High Street and residential areas and would cause significant increases in lorry traffic on St John's Way. The infill programme proposed will take a conservative estimate of four years to complete with 40 – 50 lorries per day travelling along St John's Way to fill it - this is in addition to the extensive quarry traffic already using this residential part of the town. This will create noise, dust and pollution and should not be underestimated.

The developers seem to have paid little attention to the issues Chipping Sodbury faces today. Particular note being of the flooding issues around part of the town which when talking with the developers they seemed largely unaware of the problem and agreed that flooding was a complex matter and that this development would certainly not improve the situation around the River Frome.

There also seemed to be a lack of consideration for the primary schooling needs and the wider infrastructure issues the town has had with sewage capacity and roads in the area, particularly if the Regional Spatial Plan dictates that the development must happen in Brimsham Park, Yate Rocks or Engine Common.

The development of a Waitrose would be the 5^th supermarket to accompany Morrisons, Tesco, Lidl and Iceland in the immediate Yate and Chipping Sodbury area, plus the Spar already resident in Chipping Sodbury. Tesco are expanding their supermarket into a superstore due for completion within the next two years, which begs the question why does this area need another.

The saddest thing though is more emotive, the impact on the old market High Street, which will almost certainly see significant change, in particular to its independent traders who must feel very threatened. This is the life blood of Chipping Sodbury which provides the character and a significant income to the town. It is the reason why many have chosen to live here and encourages visitors and tourism.

Experience in other local towns such as Thornbury has indicated how a town High Street can suffer when a supermarket opens. People may visit the supermarket, but not the town! This Waitrose development exchanges personal service, character, variety and independent traders for a characterless monopoly.

This community has opposed various plans for development in the past two years for the same reasons as identified here and the addition of Waitrose and its development is no different. The benefits seem minimal to the community, but the penalties are much more damaging. The development is out of keeping, ignores the history of the town and damages its future.

In summary there is no need for a supermarket in Chipping Sodbury, is there a need for housing? Maybe, but not as proposed. A much smaller development that does not impact the community so dramatically with infill and add to the flooding concerns may be acceptable if it fits within the currently stretched infrastructure, but this development does not achieve that. We can only hope that the planning application due in the next few months at South Gloucestershire Council is rejected so that the town can progress properly, but with its character intact and its community safeguarded.