A company boss is criticising delays to the planning system after a nursery in Bristol has been blocked from expanding. Despite huge demand for nursery places in the city, the Little Pioneers Co-operative Childcare nursery next to Temple Meads train station has so far been unable to expand provision.
Phil Ponsonby is the chief executive of Midcounties Co-operative, which runs 48 nurseries across the country including two in Bristol. In an open letter to Bristol City Council bosses, he said his expansion plans had been “hampered by delays and intransigence” at the council.
The council denied the delays were its fault, and said they were actually due to planned changes to a Grade-I listed building. Planning law means the council must consult on these changes with heritage groups, due to their effects on historic and protected buildings.
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In the letter, Mr Ponsonby said: “This £500,000 investment will help ensure high quality ongoing provision of childcare for families in the city. This will complement our recently opened new site at Emerson Green with space for up to 100 children.
“I know that you will be well aware of the critical shortage of nursery provision in Bristol and across the UK, and we are seeking to help address this by expanding and improving our offering. However, our efforts are being hampered by ongoing delays and intransigence within the planning department of Bristol City Council.
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“We originally submitted planning applications for the development of the Temple Meads site in October 2022 but — despite numerous attempts to discuss these proposals with the team, many of which have simply gone unanswered — we have not even been assigned a case officer at this point. I’m sure you will agree that this is unacceptable.”
The company boss is adding his voice to the growing number of people affected by delays in the planning process. Architects have previously complained that new building projects can face months of costly delays while the council processes their planning applications. The council said these delays were due to years of under-funding in the planning department.
Mr Ponsonby added: “We have now been informed that this will occur before the end of the month [June], but this will still be more than eight months since the application was submitted and our experience to date provides real concern about how much longer this process could continue to run.
“We are not asking for special treatment and fully recognise and support the need for the council to assess any planning application thoroughly. Nevertheless, we are also frustrated that the council does not appear to share our desire to take action to help address the severe shortage in childcare facilities.”
But the council disputed the reason for the delays. Planning officers asked for more details and changes to the application in April, to address concerns from English Heritage, a charity. According to the council, these new details were received at the end of May. Legal rules on work affecting Grade-I listed buildings mean that the council must consult heritage groups.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said: “The council has carried a number of vacancies while we face a cost-of-operating crisis due to rising inflation, national austerity, and rising demand for services. This situation is compounded by the fact that the fees for applying for planning permission should cover the cost of administering the planning system, but these charges are set nationally and have not been reviewed for a number of years.
“This means that they have not kept pace with inflation, and so the capacity in the team is not where it needs to be to deliver the level of service that we would like. The planning department is making every effort to manage a growing caseload and has recruited additional officers to work through live applications.
“The team has been engaged with this case since an application was submitted. Further details and plans were requested and provided after some time and we are aware of some works being carried out on a Grade-I listed building without proper listed building consent.
“After raising this with the applicant, the appropriate applications for consent were received on May 31 and have been sent to Historic England and other statutory consultees for input, as per the proper process. This application will be processed further once the statutory consultation period has elapsed.”
