Residents fear flood risk will increase in Severnside due to new warehouses planned on the site of an old pharmaceutical factory. Huge warehouses have now been granted planning permission by South Gloucestershire Council despite warnings of a higher chance of floods.
The warehouses will be built on the 41-hectare site of the old Avlon Works, which was used by Imperial Chemical Industries and then later Avara Pharmaceuticals. The former buildings were recently demolished and the site has been left vacant.
While locals welcomed the new jobs that could come with the planned warehouses, they told the council’s strategic sites delivery committee on Thursday (March 2) that a plan to raise the height of the land could lead to flood water getting displaced.
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Peter Tyzack, chairman of the Pilning and Severn Beach Parish Council, said: “It’s so very different to other parts of South Gloucestershire. The site might be surrounded by other developments, but in the broader context it has the magnificent River Severn to the west, the green belt to the north, and a wooded escarpment to the east.
“This is not Avonmouth, where densely packed development might be appropriate. This is Severnside, South Gloucestershire. You cannot just dig up a wildlife corridor because the developers need an attenuation pond. If such ponds are needed for the site’s drainage, then they need to be in addition to the wildlife corridor, not instead of.”
Nick Davis, who lives in Pilning, added: “If you put water in your bath and then you get into the bath, the water level goes up. If you put 177,000 cubic metres of compacted soil on the ground and then there’s a flood, that soil will displace 177,000 cubic metres of flood water — 39 million gallons of water — and that has to go somewhere.
“Loss of flood storage capacity causes flood waters to rise and extend out over a greater area. So some areas will experience greater consequences from flooding and other areas will experience greater probability of flooding as a result. All the evidence says that this proposal will increase flood risk, so you should refuse consent.”
It’s unclear what the warehouses would be used for, but early designs show four main buildings would be constructed on the site. Natural habitats to the east of the site would be cleared away to create attenuation ponds, to soak up any excess water and decrease the chance of bad flooding. Several trees would be chopped down to make way for the ponds.
Harry Spawton, a planning partner at Gerald Eve - the planning advisers representing the applicant - said: “We understand there have been some concerns about the loss of landscape to the east of the site. However, it is important to note that this area could be developed under the [previously granted] 1957 permission, without the need for further planning permission.
“The site is currently vacant and has recently undergone a programme of demolition. This redevelopment will bring this important site back into active employment use. The Avonmouth and Severnside flood defences are due for completion in 2026–27 which will prevent risk of flooding in the area.”
