In 1969, a few residents got together to form the Sneyd Park Residents’ Association in order to defend the area from piecemeal and inappropriate development. Since then successive elected committees have kept vigil over all planning applications - for demolitions, extensions, conversions and new-builds as well as for the removal or severe scale-reduction of trees - themselves such a defining feature of this beautiful suburb. It was as a result of a great deal of hard work by the association, over thirty years ago, that Sneyd Park was granted conservation area status in 1981. We still rely heavily on this special status in combating unsuitable development.

Of course, the association doesn’t object to every planning application! Indeed, it supports various improvements and enhancements either tacitly or by working with residents to ensure that proposed developments are appropriate to the special character of the area. When we do have objections to raise however, this is done by way of formal representation to Bristol City Council, drawing attention to the provisions of the Local Area Plan and the special provisions that apply in a Conservation Area.

Occasionally a developer appeals against the council’s refusal and, if we have raised objections to the original planning application, we sometimes send a formal written statement to the Department of the Environment, emphasising our original objections.

One of the defining characteristics of Sneyd Park is the spacious positioning of houses within their own large gardens. Over the years, this has led to many applications - from either residents or developers with recently acquired properties - for infills, usually in rear or side gardens. Over the last few years the former government encouraged such development by categorising gardens as brownfield sites, along with derelict industrial sites. Sometimes this led owners to the wrong conclusion that such garden grabbing was legitimate, even in a conservation area. While some applications succeeded, a number were refused by both the City Council and D of E planning inspectors. Among the reasons for refusal was the almost inevitable loss of mature trees either through their removal or damage caused during the building process.

Hardly surprising, then, that in principle we are opposed to such applications and we now have the help of the new government whose recent ruling outlaws such developments by removing gardens from the brownfield site categorisation. This will undoubtedly help us in our determination to preserve the character of the Sneyd Park Conservation Area.

There have been two large areas of land with which we have been concerned over the last few years: Sanctuary Gardens bordered by Church Road and Knoll Hill and the former Bristol & West sports ground on the Portway.

On the first, Sanctuary Gardens, the City Council eventually gave the go-ahead for the building of eleven new houses where there had been eight prefabs on an area bounded by Church Road and Knoll Hill. By negotiating with both the developers and the council, we managed to achieve a reduction of just one house before permission was granted. Work is now fairly advanced and we hear that there is already interest from would-be purchasers.

On the second, Bristol & West sports ground, we have recently attended a ‘pre-application consultation meeting’ with a group of surfing enthusiasts, keen to open a surfing park using the whole of this large site on the Portway. This would involve the establishment of a large lake with a wave-making apparatus to attract surfers from a wide area. A botanical park and ample car parking would be provided as part of the scheme.

Our having succeeded in supporting the council, some four years ago, in its refusal for a commercial development with a number of pitches, for daytime and evening, floodlit football, we are anxious to learn more about the detail as – and if – the developers proceed with a formal application. Last time around, both the City Council and the association were clear that no commercial activity should be permitted on this site, which adjoins the Old Sneed Park Nature Reserve and which has become an established wildlife corridor. While we continue to hope for a suitable solution to this development opportunity, we are keen to ensure that whatever is eventually permitted will not only reflect our own concerns but will also enhance the entrance to the city for those approaching along the A4.

Guidance on how to apply for planning permission is available from the Bristol City Council website (link here).

Advice on how to comment upon or object to a planning application is available from SPRA. Members are welcome to seek advice or support from the association by contacting the chairman. Guidance is also available from the Bristol City Council website (link here). Comments or objections can be made online or by letter. In either case it is vital that your views reach the planning office ahead of the stated closure date. As a general rule, the majority of planning applications are decided at officer level, without reference to the appropriate planning committee. However, because of our Conservation Area status, a higher proportion are referred to the committee. When this happens, interested parties are entitled to send a statement in advance and to speak at the committee meeting. This process can be very beneficial and can sometimes lead the committee to defer a decision until its members have visited the site to see the situation on the ground.

Once a decision is made to grant planning permission, the only means of appeal is by way of a complex and costly legal process. However, any applicant has the right to appeal against refusal. Such appeals are decided by the Department of the Environment Planning Inspector. If you have objected to the original application, you will be informed about the appeal and provided with guidance on how to press your objection with the planning inspector. Again, SPRA will be pleased to assist or advise you.