CREST Nicholson has unveiled a bid to build 550 homes at Hicks Gate, near Keynsham.
It is seeking to develop just over 60 acres (25 hectares) north-west of the Hicks Gate roundabout, alongside the A4 Bath Road.
The company intends to submit a joint outline planning application to Bath & North East Somerset Council and Bristol City Council. The site lies within the jurisdiction of both councils but is mainly in B&NES.
Crest Nicholson has made a scoping application to B&NES Council as a first step before submitting its planning application.
Scoping is the process of asking a local planning authority to identify key issues that must be looked at as part of an environment impact assessment (EIA).
The green-belt site stretches up from the A4 to the River Avon in the north. It includes a football pitch currently used by Brislington FC.
Crest Nicholson says the proposed development would include public open space, equipped play areas, and pedestrian and cycle connections. The site would be served by a signal-controlled single-entry point along the A4, about halfway between Ironmould Lane and the Hicks Gate roundabout.
Crest Nicholson proposes that the EIA should include the likely impact on roads, including the A4, A4175 Durley Hill and the A4174 ring road between the Hicks Gate roundabout and the Kingfield roundabout at Longwell Green.
The Hicks Gate site is within an area earmarked by B&NES Council as a potential site for new homes in its draft local plan.
The government has told the council it needs to build 27,000 homes by 2043, and the local plan will set out where new developments should go to meet that target.
B&NES Council has been criticised for proposing to put most of the new homes in areas such as Keynsham and Saltford outside Bath, to avoid risking the historic city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
There has been much opposition among Keynsham residents and councillors to some of the potential housing sites identified within the town, such as west of Charlton Road.
Hicks Gate is seen by some as a potentially acceptable option that would strengthen residents’ argument for rejecting the development that the town does not want.
One local B&NES councillor, however, has criticised Crest Nicholson for making its scoping application for Hicks Gate while the draft local plan is still at the consultation stage.
George Leach (Liberal Democrat, Keynsham North) said: “It’s disappointing to see more speculative steps towards planning applications from developers before the local plan has been agreed.
“It is important we agree a long-term housing plan, not continually looking at proposal sites on an ad-hoc basis without integration to a wider strategy.”
Meanwhile, Bellway Homes is seeking permission to build more than 500 homes at Hicks Gate south of the A4.
It submitted a planning application to Bristol City Council in 2024 to develop green fields between Brislington park-and-ride and the former Wyevale Garden Centre, next to the boundary with Bath & North East Somerset.
B&NES Council, which had previously raised concerns about the impact on traffic, told the city council in January this year that a strategic masterplan covering the wider Hicks Gate development area should be prepared as part of the Bellway Homes application.
It said: “This could identify opportunities for higher density development and should include a comprehensive route and access strategy, including the safeguarding of rapid transit routes along the A4, segregated cycle routes throughout, and a clearer understanding of the relationship to the proposed Hicks Gate transport interchange.”
Bristol City Council has yet to make a decision on the Bellway Homes plans.
Regarding its local plan, B&NES Council will run its next round of consultations when it has picked the sites and written up its draft version of the plan in spring/summer this year.
The plan will then need to go to the government for examination before it can be approved by the council, with the council expected to finally be able to approve the plan and bring it into effect in the summer of 2027.
Pictured above, green fields to the north-west of the Hicks Gate roundabout (bottom left) that Crest Nicholson wants to develop Image: Google Earth
Below, the area outlined in red is the subject of Crest Nicholson’s scoping application Image: Groundsure Location Intelligence
