PLANS to build a home in Westbury Park for nursery workers have run into opposition from neighbours.
Samantha Packer, who owns Daisychain Nurseries, wants to create three-storey accommodation in Etloe Road for early years practitioners at her two child day care centres in Clifton and Redland.
But people living nearby say the scheme, which includes turning the Vining Hall in Etloe Road into a community hall, would create parking chaos.
Daisychain successfully operated a nursery at the site for 30 years but closed it at the end of 2023, with children and staff moving to the chain’s provision at Torwood House Nursery School, Durdham Park.
Now Ms Packer is seeking permission to develop a community hall and demolish an extension to provide space for a six-bedroom home of multiple occupation (HMO) for people working at her two remaining nurseries or studying and training to do so.
Her application to Bristol City Council explains that a combination of Brexit, the cost-of-living crisis, difficulties in recruiting staff, and costs associated with the building’s energy use had made the Westbury Park nursery unviable.
Efforts to market the 19th century Vining Hall for alternative uses have proved unsuccessful, it says.
Nearly 50 objections to the proposals have been submitted to the council’s planning department. Residents are concerned about potential additional pavement parking, which could cause difficulties for parents walking children to school as well as for access for emergency service vehicles.
They also point out that there are already churches with community halls at each end of the street.
One resident commented: “It is very difficult to see how the area can absorb the pressure of extra parking demand, especially as we are just outside the residential parking zone so we are often used as an alternative area where cars are parked and left for sometimes long periods.”
Another said: “Parking on the street is already highly problematic from both a safety and practicality perspective. Due to the street being narrow and a lack of off road parking, many vehicles park on the pavement, making it very difficult for people to walking down the pavement – particularly with prams and especially on bin day, with people often being forced to walk out into the street. Vehicles often drive too quickly down the street, and the combination of this and already heavy parking on both sides makes road crossing very dangerous. A 6 bed HMO is only likely to add more cars and exacerbate these issues.”
The application can be found on the council planning portal with the reference 25/11096/F.