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Brimscombe Port FAQs

The vision for Brimscombe Port is to deliver a sustainable new residential-led mixed use development with a reinstated canal and canal basin at its heart, that meets the needs of both existing and future residents. By responding to the site’s unique characteristics with innovative and inspiring design; the Council aspires to create an exemplar scheme that integrates with the existing surroundings and improves and expands upon the site’s constraints and opportunities to enhance resident’s daily life.

      The six objectives for the site are to:

  1. Create a distinctive and memorable place, appropriate to its context and history with a strong character and identity;
  2. Build sustainable, energy efficient buildings and low impact development that minimises harm to the environment;
  3. Create a vibrant and inclusive community that provides for a range of ages, affordability and demographics;
  4. Create and integrate landscape comprehensively, enhancing biodiversity and creating new habitats that bring nature into the site;
  5. Encourage wellness and healthy lifestyles through the new open spaces and enhance existing cycling and walking routes within and connecting the site to neighbouring destinations.
  6. Create a financially sustainable canal to ensure the ongoing quality of the waterside setting.

The impact of this site cannot be underestimated in terms of its importance to the whole redevelopment of the valley, and the economic and strategic benefits to the area, acting as a catalyst for other development along the canal.  It creates a destination for canal tourism, not only for the local canal network but also for the whole canal system, a nationally important landmark destination.

Historically Brimscombe Port was the country’s largest inland port, created to transfer goods from large sea going Severn Trows to Thames barges to navigate the narrower canal to the east. This link was promoted by local clothiers as well as London merchants to link with the Midlands. The Stroudwater Canal was finished in 1779 and the Thames and Severn Canal a decade later in 1789.  Amazingly for that era the Port was capable of handling 100 vessels at a time.

Following the decline in canals the Port became redundant. The canal was in-filled in after the Second World War and the site developed as an industrial estate during the 1960/70’s.

Some historic buildings survive, including the Salt Warehouse and the Port Mill. Both are listed and charming stone buildings. Much of the site still acts as an industrial estate but has become unattractive and is showing signs of its age.

Initially Brimscombe Port was part of Phase 1a of the Cotswold Canal Restoration project, the original aim of which was to reinstate the canals from Stonehouse ‘Ocean’ to Brimscombe Port. The port was acquired in 2009 from British Waterways by Stroud Valleys Canal Company with grant funding from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA); the expectation at that time was that it would deliver both a redeveloped port and provide funding for other sections of the canal.

After the property crash in 2009, subsequent marketing proved the site to be unviable without additional public investment. Phase 1a of the canal project was scaled back to finish at Bowbridge while additional funds were sought for the Port.

The site is now owned by Stroud District Council and is allocated in the Council’s Local Plan for 150 homes and is within the Industrial Heritage Conservation Area, being of significant cultural and historical value. It comprises part of the proposed reinstated Cotswold Canal and basin and so is unable to be developed for a non-canal related scheme. Once complete the Port will be the destination at the eastern end of the canal.

In 2015 the Council was successful in securing £2m from Homes England. The Council has since committed £2.9m to the project and has also received Land Release Funding through One Public Estate in the sum of £776k. Together these contributions have made the redevelopment more viable and has enabled a Developer to be selected to create a unique waterside attraction.

Due to the high abnormal costs of the site arising from the need for remediation of contaminated land, deculverting of the river and the re-instatement of the canal infrastructure the project has been split into two phases.

The essential infrastructure to deliver Phase 1 includes the canal, basin, deculverted River Frome and a new access road off the A419. The reinstatement of the canal and basin, together with the raising of the level of the Port is required for flood alleviation measures to enable a residential led mixed use scheme to be delivered, which is also part of Phase 1.

Phase 2 will connect the redeveloped Port to the canal network with a canal and river crossing under Brimscombe Hill with corresponding alterations to the highway, including road and bridge works.

The design of the infrastructure for both phase 1 and 2 has been carried out by Atkins and has involved extensive hydrological modelling and liaison with the Environment Agency to ensure that the design does indeed take the site out of the flood plain but also demonstrates that there are no detrimental impacts downstream. Further canal re-instatement will then link to the canal beyond Canal Ironworks.

Once the canal infrastructure is constructed it will be transferred to Stroud Valleys Canal Company (SVCC) to own and manage with the rest of the reinstated Cotswold Canals.

Brimscombe Port is the destination at the eastern end of the Stroudwater Canal. The canal is being restored and a large section from Stonehouse through Stroud has been completed which is showing the amazing and wide-ranging benefits that the canal brings to the area. Stroud District Council and its partners have secured £8.9 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards connecting Stonehouse Ocean to Saul Junction with the Cotswold Canals Connected project which will link the canal to the National Canal network.

More funding will be required to deliver the next stage of the project, but once a new bridge and canal and river crossing are constructed under Brimscombe Hill and the missing length of canal to Stroud Brewery is reinstated the Port will then connect to the national canal network. Completing this penultimate section of canal will also mean that Stroud is one step closer to delivering a hugely important and previously lost heritage asset that provides an excellent national leisure attraction and a unique springboard for regeneration and sustainable economic development throughout the district.

This is an exemplar canal, heritage and biodiversity project, creating post-COVID regeneration, health and wellbeing and bringing economic, tourism and sustainable transport benefits to the whole district and wider area.

 

The original wish of the community to see the Port redeveloped, with a significant port basin, connected canal and mixed-use development was generated through community consultation in 2003-2005 and was described as ‘putting the heart back into Brimscombe’.

The site has been included in the Stroud District Local Plan for many years and consulted on as part of the local plan process. It is expected to deliver the canal restoration, a minimum of 150 homes, some commercial and community space.

The design of the enabling infrastructure, mainly comprising the canal and basin, new bridge, canal/river crossing and a new access into the site, is largely fixed by the need to comply with the Environment Agency and Highway Authority’s requirements, to deliver a navigable canal for SVCC and to meet the physical constraints of the site. Options to achieve this and to take the site out of flood risk are very limited and the engineering solution has been designed by Atkins.

The vision for the site is set out in the Output Specification . This was formed building on early community consultation and in discussions with the different stakeholders (e.g Parish Council, SVCC, District Councillors, Homes England) and tested with developers, and is set within the policy requirements of the (District) Local Plan

Following the receipt of planning approval for the demolition and infrastructure and Listed Building Consent on 24 March 2021, demolition of all of the buildings completed in June 2022. This enabled the Council to offer a cleared site when it procured a Developer. St Modwen Homes will be firming up their more detailed development programme for the next steps in the redevelopment proposals and this will be shared in due course.

The Council considered various options to deliver the redevelopment of the Port, which ranged from selling the land on the open market, and not having any further involvement in the site, to redeveloping the site itself. The decision was to follow a middle position to seek a Developer to work with the Council to see the ambitious vision for the Port realised.

As a public body, the Council is required to follow the European Procurement Rules, which have been enshrined in UK procurement legislation (so did not change with Brexit).  Expressions of interest were sought, interested parties shortlisted and the shortlisted bidders taken through an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) competitive dialogue process. Competitive dialogue is a public-sector tendering option that allows for bidders to develop alternative proposals in response to a client’s outline requirements. Once their proposals were developed to sufficient detail, tenderers were invited to submit competitive bids. The aims were to increase development quality by encouraging innovation and to maintain competitive pressure in bidding for complex contracts.

The rules for the process are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and needed to be adhered to closely as any divergence could have left the Council open to legal challenge, which can be very expensive and time consuming to respond to. The process had to adhere to the core principles of fairness, transparency, non-discrimination and proportionality.

Once the bids had been developed to sufficient detail, tenderers were invited to submit competitive bids by providing responses to the Council’s tender evaluation criteria. These were scored by officers with specialist knowledge in those topic areas together with the Council’s consultants. This resulted in a preferred bidder, St Modwen Homes, who was approved by members at Strategy and Resources Committee on 12th July 2022.

Important issues such as quality of design, affordable housing, energy efficiency, sustainability and social value all form part of this criteria along with a sound business plan and a track record of delivering similar projects.

Public funding is required to ensure the viability of the site due to the abnormally high infrastructure costs.

The Council has already invested £1 million in the project to de risk the site together with a further £1.6 million of capital funding approved in April 2018 and the surplus income off the Port from the current tenancies on the site. A £2 million loan from Homes England has also been secured and the Council has received Land Release Funding through One Public Estate in the sum of £776K. This funding assists with the viability of this complex project and provided developers with more confidence when putting forward their proposals.

Private sector investment is required to carry out the redevelopment proposals (build the houses, commercial and public spaces), and hence the procurement of a Developer who can bring this finance to the project.

Free land or space for community facilities will be made available to the local community as part of the redevelopment. The Parish Council consulted on a vision document for the facilities and the Council is working with the Parish Council to decide how the cost of the construction and fitting out can be funded, managed and run.

Planning permission is being sought in two steps.

Planning approval for the enabling infrastructure (canal basin, canal infrastructure, access road, flood assessment) and demolition was granted on the 24 March 2021 together with Listed Building consent for the demolition of the modern buildings attached to the listed Mill building, which will remain.

The planning application for the overall redevelopment of the Port (design and lay-out of buildings, numbers of homes, commercial space, communal areas etc) will be prepared and submitted by the Developer now that they have been selected. The first public meeting was held on the 10 August 2022. The second public consultation, prior to the application being submitted, will take place on 12 December 2024 and further pre-application consultation with the Local Planning Authority has been undertaken.  People will also be able to make comments on the planning portal once the application has been submitted.

Individuals and local groups can make their views known through the planning process and in consultation / engagement prior to the application being submitted. Community organisations were able to be part of consortia bidding to be the Developer for the Port. There are additional opportunities for being involved in developing the proposed community facilities or developing social enterprises in the commercial space of the development.

Individuals can also be involved by volunteering with CCT or the Council to work on many different activities linked to the canal.

Vacant possession of the units was required by the end of June 2021 to meet the funding milestones as all the units needed to be demolished to enable the redevelopment to take place. Only the tenants in the Port Mill can remain throughout, as this building will not be affected by the redevelopment of the Port.

The redevelopment plans include the construction of new community facilities and the Council will work with partners to encourage community organisations to establish and thrive in this new venue. There will also be new commercial space available to let in the new development that may be suitable for social enterprise and on 21 November 2024, the Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee resolved to ask the Council to approve investing £630,000 in the site by buying and letting new commercial space which will form part of the development.

There will be strict milestones and deadline dates in the agreement with our Developer to drive delivery but there will still be periods when it seems like nothing is happening on the ground.  This is inevitable with any redevelopment of this scale and complexity, whilst planning is sought, contracts are agreed and mobilisation takes place. There are also only certain times of the year when works to the river and on site can take place, due to various species which are present and need to be protected or relocated. The current challenging national economic conditions and their impact on the property market has led to some delays to the initial programme. However, the council has been working closely with St Modwen Homes on the plans to bring forward this exciting development to realise our vision for the site and continue to progress the Brimscombe Port development.

Regular Information Sheets providing updates on the project are on the Council’s website. Comments and questions can also be submitted here and public questions can be submitted prior to meetings of the Strategy and Resources Committee.

The council has been looking forward to being able to share the current proposals with the public and is pleased that we are able to do so on Thursday 12 December 2024 at Stroud Brewery. There will be an opportunity to provide written feedback on the proposals on the day.

However, if you are/were unable to attend the event or would prefer to feedback at a later date, there will be an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the proposals online at www.stmodwenhomes.co.uk/brimscombeport or at the council offices up to the 17 January 2025. Please note that the website will only go live on the 12th December.

A feedback form will be included on the website to provide an opportunity for you to share your views on the plans. We would also welcome any comments via email to brimscombeportconsultation@stmodwen.co.uk and would kindly ask that all responses are submitted by Friday 17th January 2025.

The council’s involvement and funding in this project has meant it is further forward than the other brownfield sites allocated for development along the valley.

The public investment in the project is summarised in the table here.

The structure of the agreement with St Modwen Homes is that the council provides the developer with public investment in the sum of £3.526 million towards the cost of the infrastructure. This figure was set out when the scheme was tendered and has not changed.

This figure (£3.526m) is made up of £2.776m from Homes England and the Government’s Land Release Fund and a further £750K from the council. This was the maximum public investment that the council could guarantee was available at the time of going out to procure a developer.

 It has always been made clear to developers that there is no further subsidy for the project. As the public investment figure is fixed the cost risk of the overall development is the developers, the main risk being the cost of the infrastructure.

The public funding is not paid over until the developer starts to reinstate and construct the canal and basin. The Development Agreement sets out that a retention sum (£1m) is held back until the works are completed and only 50% of costs reimbursed as works are progressed, ensuring that the public investment results in the construction of the canal and that the developer invests in the infrastructure as well as the council.

SDC funding

The £750k put in by the council towards the infrastructure costs, is part of the £1.85 million it has allocated for the project to date. This is made up of two capital sums, together with £696,500  net income from lettings at the Port (and agreed by Homes England to be reinvested in the project.)

SDC Project Budget

Some of the investment has already been spent by the council to start to de-risk the project, in particular the design of and planning application for the infrastructure for the Port and the demolition of the buildings across the site, which enabled the council to be in a position to tender the scheme, making it more attractive to developers, where a previous attempt to market had failed. The purchase of The Ship Inn pub forms part of this expenditure and supports the next stage of the project when the canal is connected to Gough’s Orchard lock. The Council also expects to retain the freehold interest in Brimscombe Port Mill (the whole site having previously been owned by SVCC), worth over £1m.

Net rental income will continue to accrue as the Port Mill remains in SDC’s ownership until the end of the project, after which the income will no longer need to be ring-fenced.

The council always had first refusal on the affordable homes and has since agreed to enter into a forward purchase agreement to secure our commitment to the purchase of these.

Subject to approval by the council on the 19 December 2024, there will also be a forward purchase agreement (FPA) for the  commercial space on the site to ensure that it has a sufficient amount of commercial space (NB. this is the view of the council as landowner not as the local planning authority ) and more control over the end occupiers of these units into the future.

This helps to  ensure the overall offering for the development is in line with the council’s and key stakeholder’s vision for the site and considers the wider commercial and community facilities in the area, to create a destination for local residents and visitors alike. The council recognises the unique personality of the area and wishes to see occupiers that enhance and compliment the uses that have grown up around the port in more recent years at Brimscombe Mills, Bourne Mill and The Ship Inn.

The space will be designed to be a flexible space suitable for a variety of uses. This letting of commercial premises is a risk to the council, as the council will need to borrow to fund the purchase of these units when they are built and it is anticipated that the rental income from the space, over a  40 year term will pay for the costs of capital and interest .

The council is experienced in commercial lettings across the district and the mill building on site is fully let.

A specification for these units will be appended to the FPA which will be for ‘shell and core’.

The council will not pay for these units until  the units have been built (reached Practical Completion) with the purchase price of the units set now. This minimises risk to the Council.

Terms can be finalised with St Modwen Homes if the Council approves this acquisition at its meeting on the 12th December 2024,  but it is anticipated that there will be a retention of 2.5-5.0% of the purchase price to be withheld from the payment, with this balance payable on the later of:

  1. a)    12 months from PC; and
  2. b)    The conclusion of all outstanding defect remediations

The financial implications are set out in the report which went to Strategy and Resources Committee

A viability test is a process of assessing whether a site is financially viable by looking at whether the value generated by the development (e.g. housing sales receipts) is more than  the costs of building it e.g. planning and construction costs and providing a profit to the developer – this determines whether the development is viable.

If it is not viable a developer will look for ways to increase income (sales receipts), reduce costs or look for other sources of funding. If it has already started a project, it may pause until market conditions improve the viability.

Viability tests are now a requirement from St Modwen Homes to be included in the development agreement for Brimscombe Port, both before the planning application is submitted and post planning permission if  granted, due to the significant risks associated with the infrastructure and changing economic conditions. Without these tests the developer will not proceed. The council has mitigated the risk of  the further costs it will incur  after the Development Agreement has been signed by ensuring that any abortive costs   are covered should the developer withdraw after undertaking these assessments.

The development agreement will define what is considered to be a satisfactory planning permission and onerous conditions. Without the post planning viability test, the developer will undoubtedly add to the list of onerous conditions and the council could be drawn into expensive legal arguments and delays at this point to try to compel the developer to proceed if there is any disagreement over the terms of the development agreement.

The developer will have spent considerable sums and will also want to establish whether the site is viable quickly. A time limit will be added for the post planning viability test to minimise uncertainty and delays at this stage.

The financial modelling for the scheme provided by St Modwen Homes is commercially sensitive and will not be disclosed, but the council’s Deputy Chief Executive and Strategic Director of Resources has reviewed and continues to review the appraisals.

The structure of the financial arrangement is that the developer recovers their costs and profit

first and then there is an overage agreement which sets out that any surplus profits are then shared between the Council and St Modwen Homes.

 

The site was tendered in 2022, which demonstrated that there would be minimal capital receipt for the site and market conditions/ the economy has worsened since then.

 

It should be noted that the council has never expected a financial return on the public investment in the site because of the high infrastructure costs and risks associated with the site and the need for public investment to make it viable when the site was marketed. However, an overage clause  is included, in the Development Agreement which means that should the market improve, and additional profits be made, these will be shared with the council.

The council has not invested in bringing the site forward for a financial return, the social, economic, and environmental benefits (de-culverted river/ canal reinstated, public open space/ play areas, affordable homes) to the district and local area have been well rehearsed.

The investment in the commercial units demonstrates payback over a 40-year term.

Slippage is to be expected with all major developments.

Since selecting St Modwen Homes in July 2022, the market has experienced considerable difficulties, and the council has been working hard to keep the vision for the Port alive and to deliver a scheme that comes with significant infrastructure requirements.

There have been delays to the project, that have been acknowledged by the council throughout the last two years, and these have been experienced by developers across the country. Essentially a developer is not going to build the homes if the market is not there to sell them at a profit.

This has always been a challenging site along with other brownfield sites along the valley. There is a large piece of infrastructure, the canal and basin, that is required to take the site out of the flood plain for any development to proceed and which has made the scheme unviable without the addition of public investment.  Increased costs have made this challenge even greater, but the council is pleased to be presenting a scheme that remains true to the original vision.

Once the Development Agreement has been signed, we will be able to share the proposed programme with the public.

Providing additional time for tenants to stay on the site whilst they looked for alternative accommodation, delayed the procurement of a developer by at least 6 months. The industrial buildings were at end of life and the tenants were occupying on a temporary basis. Rush’s business model was not sustainable and the council gave them significant support to continue operating as long as they did.

At Strategy and Resources Committee on the 7 April 2022 members approved the write off of £90,643 of rent, service charge and business rates arrears together with a further £100,286 of waived rent and charges, giving total financial support to Rush of £190,929.

Developers expect vacant possession of a site to be offered to them and having tenants still occupying the site when it was marketed would have been a significant disincentive.

It has always been the case, and set out in the original Output Specification, that the land for the community facilities would be provided for free by the council. The cost of constructing the community facilities was not included in the requirements set out when tendering the scheme due to the known viability issues of delivering the site and so was never included in the developer’s costs. There has always been uncertainty over delivery because of the need to fund the construction of such a building.

It is planned, and has been agreed with the Parish Council, that once the Development Agreement is signed the Council will seek expressions of interest from organisations/groups that would like to provide, own, and manage those community facilities. This could come from a group of individuals, single organisations, or a consortium.

This has not been done prior to now as anyone interested will need certainty over the programme and due to the delays, this has not been possible. St Modwen Homes will prepare their planning application with a flexible space and once a user is known this space can be adapted. The Council would be open to a staged design should this be felt the most beneficial approach. Subject to planning, an appropriate temporary structure could be acceptable in addition to an outdoor area, which can evolve into a more permanent building and use of space as the needs of canal visitors and the local community become clearer over time.

The design of the community facilities has been undertaken by St Modwen Homes to understand the space and how the building will interact with the rest of the development. Due to the site being located within the Industrial Heritage Conservation area, the design for this building needs to be carefully considered as part of the overall proposals and will therefore be included in the planning application for the development. The brief for the design of the building is for this to be as flexible as possible, to allow for the internal spaces to be altered and for versatile occupation.

Should the interested organisation require more significant changes to the building, a variation to planning can be submitted.

In relation to this site,  the council grant funds SVCC circa £60k per annum (index linked), it is expected that this will be met/ reduced through mooring fees and surface water discharge fees as the site is developed. But the council continues to make provision for this in its budget as part of its commitment to the reinstatement of the District’s canals.

These are complex, but the council is advised by an experienced legal team. To simplify, the land where the new canal and basin will be constructed will be transferred back to SVCC (the previous owner of the site) with a licence granted to St Modwen Homes to construct the canal infrastructure. The council will retain the freehold of the remaining land throughout the development with a lease being granted to St Modwen Homes to develop the site. Freehold/leasehold will then be transferred to respective buyers of the houses/flats in the usual manner with a CiC/ManCo retaining the freehold of the communal areas

The council’s interest in the site is protected through the contractual arrangements.

This hasn’t changed since 2022 and was shared with the public at the consultation event in August 2022.

 

St Modwen Homes are to provide an all-electric development, with no fossil fuels installed. As well as having highly efficient building fabric, the proposed houses, community buildings and commercial spaces will be provided with air-source heat pumps and the apartments with direct electric heating. They will also provide electric vehicle charging across the development.

 

To facilitate this, their proposals include for a local smart grid, consisting of a large number of solar panels (600kWp or 4kWp per plot), and a community battery. This will enable the development to maximise the benefit of the onsite renewable energy and minimise the size of the incoming electricity supply needed. All houses will have home-working areas and gigabit-capable optical fibre internet connections.

 

St Modwen Homes will seek full compliance with Building Healthy Places (formerly ) Building For Life 12) and full Building with Nature accreditation.

 approach to carbon reduction isn’t just limited to the homes

They are also committed to reducing their operational carbon emissions - the emissions associated with their activities on site - and they are well on track to achieving their published ambition of being operationally net zero by 2025. Some of the things they have already implemented to achieve this include:

 

  • All site-setups are provided with 100% green electricity and where this is
  • not possible, we use solar generators.
  • All plant on site is fuelled with hydro-treated vegetable oil rather than
  • diesel and we are using electric plant where it is available.
  • All staff company cars are now fully electric or plug-in-hybrid
  • All the plots they build are provided with 100% green electricity
  • A minimum of 30% of their workforce live within 30 miles of their sites

This has enabled them to reduce their operational emissions by approximately 65% from their 2019 baseline and they are committed to further reducing this over the next couple of years, before they consider any offsetting. All these initiatives will be implemented at Brimscombe Port.

A report was approved by Housing Committee on the 5 December 2023 for the council to purchase the affordable homes at Brimscombe Port from St Modwen Homes and to include them within the council’s New Homes programme.

The Heads of Terms for the Forward Purchase Agreement, which sets out the mechanism for the calculation of the purchase price for these homes, is to be appended to the Development Agreement together with the specification for these homes, which will ensure that the properties are highly energy efficient with air source heat pumps and solar panels to all properties. All properties across the site, including the affordable homes will be built to Building for Life 12 which includes the following:

  • Is well connected to its surroundings
  • Provides significant new community facilities
  • Prioritises access to sustainable transport options
  • Provides a mix of housing types and tenures
  • Creates a place with a locally inspired distinctive character.
  • Takes advantage of and enhances local ecology
  • Landscaping defines and enhances streets and spaces
  • Is designed to make it easy to navigate
  • Is designed to encourage low vehicle speeds
  • Parking is sufficient and does not dominate the street.
  • Has clearly defined public and private spaces
  • Has adequate space for bins, recycling, and cycles.

The percentage of affordable homes across the site, a 50/50 split of rent and shared ownership, remains at 30%. This has been a key priority for the council and remains as set out in the Output Specification, an important document that was used when tendering for developers for the site, and as agreed by members in July 2019.

The homes will become part of the council’s housing stock and be let and managed by the housing services team. This service is regulated by government to ensure that residents have access to safe, secure and decent homes.

The site has been the subject of various public consultation events whilst the council has been working to bring forward the redevelopment proposals and the council has continued to engage with Brimscombe and Thrupp Parish Council throughout with monthly meetings being held over recent years.

The Local Plan sets out the vision/requirements for Brimscombe Port and this was consulted on prior to being adopted.

A public event was held in December 2018 to share the design of the key infrastructure for the site including the canal and basin and new access road prior to a planning application being submitted.

Following the selection of St Modwen Homes in July 2022, the proposals were shared with the public in August 2022. These were well received, and comments and feedback, together with comments received in the nine focus groups that were held following the consultation, the two very positive South West Design Review Panels and the pre app advice from the local authority have been fed into the revised proposals.

 

Feedback from the upcoming second consultation which is to be held on the 12 December 2024 will also be considered in the proposals put forward in the planning application for the scheme to be submitted in Spring next year.

 

The council will continue to work with St Modwen Homes on future community engagement opportunities, for example exploring ways in which the local schools can get involved in the project.

The council will also continue to provide updates through its e-mail update list and people can register for this here.

The provision of a community facility in the development has been consulted on by the Parish council several times. Their Neighbourhood Development Plan was consulted on and includes the plans for Brimscombe Port including a survey in Autumn 2021 which stated the following:

“There have been a series of consultations since 2004 on community wishes for the re-development of Brimscombe Port. Key wishes have included the reinstatement of sufficient water to ensure the scale of the historic port was reflected in the new development, a community focus at the centre of the port to ‘put the heart back into Brimscombe’ to integrate existing and new residents of the parish and to ensure the port will be connected to the main canal network.”

Through the Neighbourhood Plan Autumn 2021 consultation, it is clear that people are keen to see the Port sensitively developed. people were given a number of options for what they would like to see included in a development at the port in the survey. In order of priority of those options considered very important or important were:

  • energy efficient buildings to fight climate change (92%)
  • connected canal and port with boats (82%)
  • greenspace/community garden (82%)
  • a community run café with meeting space (78%)
  • social enterprise (78%)
  • shops and café (70%)
  • employment space (67%)
  • outside play equipment (e.g. Table \tennis) (67%)
  • Homes with at least 30% affordable/rented (64%)”

The Council’s adopted canal strategy which included Brimscombe Port also involved stakeholder and community engagement in its development.