At its meeting on 18th March 2020, Bristol City Council’s Development Control Committee B rejected the planning application to build a 96-metre jetty along the New Cut close to Bathurst Basin. Friends of Bathurst Basin and Friends of the Avon New Cut had formally raised objections to the proposal – more details about our reasons.
According to the Bristol Post, ‘both councillors and officers struggled to see the point of the proposals because boats over 20 metres cannot navigate that section of river and the application lacked information to help them understand the point of the jetty.’
The Council’s development manager Gary Collins summarised the case against the proposal: ‘In terms of heritage and design, the structure would be incongruous and overscaled. This would have an adverse effect on the visual impact of the riverbank open space. It would be detrimental to the conservation area. There is insufficient public benefit to outweigh this harm.’ He added that there had been 20 objections, including the Friends of Bathurst Basin and Friends of the Avon New Cut.
The Committee voted six votes to one against the proposal, with one abstention. Like local residents, councillors questioned the purpose of the jetty. Cllr Jo Sargeant is reported as saying, ‘I am really confused about the purpose of this. I am trying to work out what it’s for.’ And Cllr Harriet Bradley confessed to being ‘completely baffled by this whole business,’ adding ‘I do not understand what it is for.’