Brunel Ford, the main Ford dealership in Bristol, is looking to relocate its Muller Road (Horfield) car showroom and maintenance facility to a site on Hayes Way, within the Charlton Hayes development in Patchway.
The firm has submitted a planning application to South Gloucestershire Council for the “erection of a motor dealership to provide vehicle sales, servicing, repair and MOT testing” on a site owned by Arlington Business Park GP Ltd that is earmarked for “employment development” (B2/B8) use in the Charlton Hayes masterplan.
The site of the proposed development [map] lies close to the roundabout mid-way along Hayes Way, the new road linking the A38 with The Mall, just east of a small area of woodland known as Hayes Wood.
Details submitted with the planning application reveal that the dealership will employ around 28 people and provide 83 parking spaces for customers and staff.
The proposed development consists of a single building housing a vehicle showroom and workshops, surrounded by an external vehicle sales display area and customer/staff parking areas. A vehicle storage compound is located on the western side of site.
Details submitted with a separate planning application for advertising signs at the site suggests that the dealership will sell both cars and commercial vehicles, be a Transit specialist and provide a rapid fit service for tyres, exhausts, batteries, shock absorbers and clutches.
Planning officials have already granted permission for the advertising signs, with the exception of one 12m high lollipop style sign that they say would be “adversely prominent from views from the surrounding areas and appear adversely out of keeping with the scale of the surrounding built form to the detriment of the visual amenity of the area.”
A decision on granting permission for the dealership itself is yet to be made.
In a consultee response, Patchway Town Council says it doesn’t wish to object to the development but expresses concern at the possible environmental impact from the “drainage treatment run off” which it fears could seep into the soil and damage the soil/flora/fauna of Hayes Wood.
The location of the proposed development can be seen in the map below:
View Proposed Brunel Ford Car Dealership in a larger map
Related link: Car Dealerships in and around Patchway (The Journal)
Think its Brilliant
I would sooner they had moved to the old Rolls Royce site (as was mooted a few years ago) as that big empty space is an eye sore now sadly. However, it will benefit my Uncle as he currently has to travel to the inadequate facilities at Muller Road.
Officers at South Gloucestershire Council have recommended that the planning application for the dealership be granted. Permission will be formally granted within the next few days provided no Councillors choose to “call-in” the recommended decision.
The separate application for advertising signs resulted in a “split decision”: permission for all but one of the signs was granted. Officers refused permission for one 12m high sign, which they say would “be adversely prominent from views from the surrounding area and appear adversely out of keeping with the scale of the surrounding built form to the detriment of the visual amenity of the area.”
It appears that this part of Patchway is now known as “Northfield Park”:
Ford takes space at Northfield Park
A new planning application has now been made for a slightly shorter lollipop style sign: 10m high instead of the previous 12m.
That’s still a pretty high sign!!
Permission for the new dealership was granted by South Gloucestershire Council on 1st August.