Sainsbury's Submits Planning Applications For Ashton Gate And Winterstoke Road Sites

Sainsbury’s has submitted outline planning applications for a relocated store at the site of Bristol City’s Ashton Gate stadium and for residential and business units at its existing site on Winterstoke Road.

The two outline planning applications form part of a package that hopes to help Bristol City Football Club to realise a new regional stadium for the city.

Jamie Baker, Regional Development Executive, said: “We have a unique and exciting opportunity to improve the store for our customers, establish how our existing site can be redeveloped in line with local aspirations and be part of bringing a new regional stadium to Bristol.

“The planning applications reflect much of what people have told us we should consider if we want to find a solution that fits with the aspirations of the local community and that’s right for Sainsbury’s. We would like to thank everybody who has taken time to speak with us and who continue to give us their views.”

Plans for the new flagship store incorporate sustainable design initiatives including a woodchip boiler to generate energy from renewable sources, as well as sun pipes that allow natural light into the store and use of low energy LED lighting to reduce overall electricity consumption. 

The store would be Sainsbury’s largest in the South West and employ up to 800 full and part-time positions, approximately half of which are currently located at the Winterstoke Road store. There are no plans to operate the store on a 24-hour basis.

Sainsbury’s has stated it aims to redevelop the area in line with local employment and housing needs by promoting  new homes and business units at the site of its current store.

Consultation regarding the proposals began in December 2009 and will continue throughout the planning process. It has included meetings with Bristol City Council, local residents, community groups and businesses along with a website, freephone number and public exhibitions.

Sainsbury’s says that the feedback it has received to date shows widespread support for the proposals and that reasons given for support include that its plans offer an opportunity to regenerate Winterstoke Road in line with local needs and provide a much improved store that offers customers a wider range of products and creates local employment.

However, some respondents raised concerns about traffic congestion, questioned the impact on local traders and stated their loyalty to the existing store.

Sainbury’s claim that the existing stadium site’s neighbours recognised the significant reduction in size of the proposed Sainsbury’s compared with the stadium. They also requested measures be put in place that minimise the operational impact of the store, that Sainsbury’s realise the opportunity to improve the overall appearance of the site and called for there to be no vehicle access from Ashton Road.

In response to consultation feedback Sainsbury’s has made a number of amendments to its proposals, including:

On the proposals for a store at Ashton Gate:

• Removing vehicle access from Ashton Road

• Incorporating a fully enclosed delivery yard to minimise noise and light disturbance

• Including additional landscaping and acoustic screening around the site boundary to act as a cushion between residences and the store

• Moving the petrol station further away from residents and towards the site boundary

• Extending free parking at the store from two to three hours to encourage linked trips to local shops

The regeneration plans for existing Winterstoke Road site:

• Submitting plans for a mix of residential and business units in line with local needs

• Proposing two-storey housing with generous gardens to protect sight-lines from existing homes along Ashton Drive

• Incorporating a ‘village green’ or community space in the proposed site layout

Mr Baker went on to say: “We will continue to listen to what people tell us to ensure that the store provides an excellent retail experience for customers and that we remain a considerate member of a community we have been a part of for the past 20 years.”

The plans follow Bristol City Football Club’s success in gaining the support of Bristol City Council to build a new state-of-the-art 30,000-seat stadium.

Sainsbury’s planning applications have been registered by Bristol City Council. The Council’s planning officers will now give further consideration to the scheme before its planning committee members meet to decide the future for the proposals. Should Sainsbury’s planning applications be approved and the Club’s proposed move to a new stadium go ahead, Sainsbury’s would relocate from the Winterstoke Road store to the Ashton Gate site in 2013.

The planning application reference number for the Ashton Gate site is 10/00812 and some details are now available to view on Bristol City Council's website here. The full documents are not yet available to view on the site.