Bristol site

Did Mr Gove make a decision?

Hi everyone,

The SoS was due to issue his decision regarding our appeal on or before 09 February 2022.

On 09 February 2022 we received a letter from the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing & Communities saying that the SoS was unable to make his decision and that he would now do so on or before 09 March 2022.

The new lease over Baltic Wharf is about to be completed and will expire on 31 May 2022. There is a break clause whereby the Landlord can break the lease upon four weeks' notice to take effect anytime after 31 March 2022.

We will keep you updated with any news. 

Thank You, Rowena  ~~  we must carry on hoping then.

One of the major objections to the new site was the flood risk. I wondered if anyone living in and around Bristol can confirm if the bad weather coupled with and exceptionally high tide did in fact cause the land for the new site to actually flood? If the site has not flooded in some of the worse conditions it rather puts doubt on the creditability of those experts who expressed concerns about the safety of the site?

David 

I don’t know, but I think the risk is only present if high tides coincide with the River Avon in flood which I doubt it is.

I think in the past it's been one of those hundred year events, there are historic details out there. 

Even if it has flooded, I don’t see why that should be such a negative factor. It will only be once in a blue moon. Such as these high winds causing a storm surge. Although as SB says past problems have been when the Avon was also in flood. The club has clearly demonstrated they can safely manage sites with intermittent flood risks. The proposed new site would be exactly the same as York or Tewkesbury, the likely hood of flooding would be forecast well in advance and the site could be put on notice and evacuate if required. Unless a weekend nearby sites could accommodate. If there is a flood risk I would assume the club would already have proposed building the facilities block on a raised platform  and 1.8 metre EHU posts.

Worked in Bristol for 13yrs and crossed the Cumberland Basin 5 or 6 days per week. I don’t recall ever seeing the area for the proposed site flooded. 

There was occasionally some minor flooding to the road around Avon Crescent which is a few yards from the existing Baltic Wharf site.

After I visited the location of the proposed new site last July, I did some fairly extensive research online. Unfortunately, I did not keep the various items of interest that I found.

My sense when I visited was that it was lower lying than Baltic Wharf. But, in fact, scrutiny of an elevation map proved this was not so and that the elevation of both sites was roughly the same.  

But it is clear that there have been several times when there have been floods in Bristol and as recently as March 2020. There were significant floods in 1959 and 1968 as well and, no doubt, before that. However, I do not know if the location of the new site was affected by any of these. I found many pictures of various floods and one of the 2020 flood clearly shows extensive surface water close to the new site (you can easily tell this from the location of the suspension bridge and other landmarks in the picture), but whether it reached as far as the new site I cannot say. Flood risk maps do clearly include the area of the new site. I attach a map below and the location of the new site is shown with the red dot. 

Moreover the point surely is that it now seems pretty certain that flooding of this type is going to occur more often. Whilst not necessarily in Bristol, there has been plenty of evidence of this so far. In my view the environmental experts are likely to  have a great deal more credibility that either you or I and there is no doubt there is real concern about this. One thing I found in my previous research was a council report stating that incidents of flooding were likely to increase, but equally that a strategy to protect at risk areas was being planned.  

I do not wish to give the impression that I am against the new site. Instead I am dispassionate. I think there are some real negatives, which I have expressed elsewhere, quite aside from any flood risk, which would not be a great concern to me personally, but equally there are some positives. People must realise, however, that it is a long way from the city and the attractions and it will be very, very different to Baltic Wharf. No doubt much, much better in terms of the site itself, but nothing like BW in terms of position and closeness to the tourist attractions. My point would be, why is it so important to have a site in Bristol. There are plenty of cities without a site that might gain more from a site near at hand.

Yes 1968 saw a significant flood, also 1607...but on the whole nothing like the frequent floods on the River Ouse at York etc.

I believe CAMC have actually bought the new proposed site so let's hope things work out.