South Gloucestershire Green Party have welcomed the decision of government to bin the proposals for a huge expansion to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway after it was granted permission by South Gloucestershire Council in 2016.
M&G Real Estate and Intu Properties, the real estate companies that own the site along with JT Baylis, had planned to extend the existing 730,000 sq. ft mall by more than 50%.
After a succession of delays from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (formerly the Department for Communities and Local Government), the Secretary of State James Brokenshire finally released a letter Monday detailing the decision to refuse permission for the build.
A report from Government planning inspector Andrew Lynch said that the Secretary of State was refusing The Mall expansion because of the impact on nearby developments in Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.
Spokesperson Joe Evans said, “We called on South Glos Council to look at the bigger picture when this development was first mooted, and they failed. Our local high streets are struggling to compete with online and out of town retailers and this development would have been the final nail in the coffin for places like Hanham and Thornbury, as well as adding to traffic chaos and poor air quality around the Cribbs area.”
He added, “’Hopefully the Council will focus more on directing their agreeably ambitious business growth ambitions towards local communities who need it most.”
