Application to Amend Two Planning Conditions
Bathurst Development (BDL), as the master developer for The Steadings, has applied to the Local Planning Authority to amend two planning conditions attached to the original Outline Planning Permission (16/00054).
The amendments relate to:
- The number of homes that can be accessed from the Eastern entrance of The Steadings, and
- The delivery trigger for the improvement works to the Kingsmeadow Roundabout.
Extensive technical work has been undertaken to demonstrate that the proposed changes would not give rise to any unacceptable impact upon highway operation.
The changes are intended to help accelerate housing delivery and enable BDL to invest in the delivery of new roads and services within the site, and to bring forward the next development parcels.
Eastern Entrance to The Steadings
Under the current planning consent, the Eastern access for The Steadings (from Spratsgate Lane) allows for a maximum of 705 dwellings to be built. There is then a bus-only gate on the primary street in the central section of the neighbourhood, with the remaining 1,645 dwellings accessed from the West (from Tetbury Road).
To make best use of the investment undertaken to date in the East (which includes the construction of the Spratsgate Lane Roundabout and the first section of the primary street) BDL has applied to increase the maximum number of dwellings which can be accessed from the East from 705 to 750. The total number of dwellings within The Steadings is unchanged but, this application seeks to switch the access from the West to the East for up to 45 dwellings.
Kingsmeadow Roundabout
In parallel, changes are also proposed to the timing of the delivery of improvements to the Kingsmeadow Roundabout. Traffic numbers and forecasts have decreased since the initial traffic modelling was undertaken in 2016, at the time of the outline planning application. The latest modelling which was completed in 2026, and based on new current traffic survey data, illustrates that the proposed improvements to the Kingsmeadow Roundabout are not necessary before the first 500 homes are delivered. And any additional requirements arising from the new Local Plan will also need to be factored in to ensure that the original proposals for the roundabout do not need reviewing. As a result, the timing for the delivery of BDL’s infrastructure improvements has also changed.
BDL has worked with Gloucestershire County Council Highways technical teams, who accept that the delivery trigger for improvement works to the Kingsmeadow Roundabout should be deferred from 200 to 500 occupations.
To date BDL has delivered more than £10 million in off-site highways works (plus £7 million on-site) despite only completing 68 dwellings. BDL plans to invest a further £26 million in new infrastructure works within the main site over the next five years to help accelerate the scale and pace of delivery of new homes at The Steadings.
Further Information
BDL places a strong emphasis on its stewardship role over the land at Chesterton, the surrounding communities and most pertinently, the legacy of the future community at The Steadings and Cirencester more widely.
For further information contact the Community Liaison Team for The Steadings via email: community@thesteadingscirencester.co.uk