The owner of a car dealership has threatened legal action over bicycle storage that he believes will "block access" to his showroom if a development of five new flats is built next to his business, with new residents to not have any car parking spaces and instead to receive bike shop discounts and cycling leaflets.
James Brayley is the owner of AB Autos on Victoria Street in Bristol and says the proposal would "clearly" be in breach of an agreement his father made in 1994. South Gloucestershire Council has granted planning permission for the flats to be built on the corner of the High Street and Victoria Street, an extra floor to be added to the existing two-storey building and a three-storey extension to be constructed in the existing car park, Bristol Live reports.
At the back of the building, near the gates to AB Autos, it is proposed that a "covered and secure separate bin and bike storage" facility shall be installed, the part of the development that Mr Brayley has objected to as it would make it "extremely difficult for myself and my customers to gain access to my business".
"In 1994, my late father came to an agreement with the then owners of 141 High Street that we would have permanent and unrestricted right of way over the first seven metres of the boundary wall from 1 Victoria Street. This is registered with the Land Registry," he said.
"The proposal to locate the cycle and bin store on my right of way clearly breaches this agreement. If the planning permission is granted, it will be extremely difficult for myself and my customers to gain access to my business.
"If the plans are not revised, I'll have no choice but to seek an injunction through the courts. I would suggest the developer finds an alternative location for the bin and cycle store, not on my right of way."
With the new flats to be built on the site of a current car park, there will be no vehicle parking spaces available to residents, the tenants reportedly to instead receive bike shop discounts and cycling leaflets.
The council said its planning officers had checked with the Land Registry and found that the entire site of the proposed development is owned by the applicant, casting doubt on Mr Brayley's comments.
Duncan Cryer, a director at Cryer & Coe Architects, explained the decision to move away from building flats offering on-site parking: "10 years ago, we would expect a typical housing application to include parking, and office parking in particular in the centre of Bristol was in very high demand. However, over the last 10 years we've seen a significant shift in this.
"Offices in the centre of town, a lot of them are now giving over car parking spaces to cycling facilities, cycle storage, changing rooms, showers, tool stations. We're seeing a significant uplift in sustainable transport measures and a decrease in parking demand.
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"The site is in easy walking distance to the High Street, Page Park, a doctor's surgery, dentist and leisure centre. The Bristol to Bath cycle trail is about 800 metres south-west of the site, as well as two other cycle routes approximately half a mile away.
"For trains, you've got Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway both within a half hour cycle or easy bus ride. While it hasn't got any car parking spaces, in such a location we should probably be questioning why any project like this would have parking."
