Nursery boss hits out at Bristol council planning delays

The new nursery is expected to be built on the Temple Meads site

A company boss has criticised a council for planning delays after his nursery was blocked from expanding.

Despite huge demand for nursery places in Bristol, the Little Pioneers Co-operative Nursery, run by Midcounties Co-operative, has been unable to grow.

Midcounties Co-operative chief executive Phil Ponsonby said his plans were being "hampered by intransigence."

The council said the delays were actually due to planned changes to a Grade-I listed building.

Planning law means the council must consult on these changes with heritage groups, due to their effects on historic and protected buildings, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

In an open letter to the council, Mr Ponsonby said his £500,000 investment will "help ensure high-quality ongoing provision" of childcare in the city and will complement his recently-opened site at Emerson Green.

Midcounties Co-operative, runs 48 nurseries across England, including two in Bristol - one next to Bristol Temple Meads rail station.

'Years of under-funding'

"Our efforts are being hampered by ongoing delays and intransigence within the planning department," Mr Ponsonby said.

"We originally submitted planning applications for the development of the Temple Meads site in October 2022 but - despite numerous attempts to discuss these proposals with the team, many of which have simply gone unanswered - we have not even been assigned a case officer at this point."

Bristol City Council said delays were due to years of under-funding in the planning department.

A council spokesperson said the capacity in its team" is not where it needs to be" to deliver the level of service that it would like.

"The planning department is making every effort to manage a growing caseload," they said.

"We are aware of some works being carried out on a Grade-I listed building without proper listed building consent."

They said as a result, the application has been sent to Historic England and other statutory consultees for input, "as per the proper process".

"The application will be processed further once the statutory consultation period has elapsed," they added.