An American company has insisted it will bring “significant investment” to the local economy after getting planning permission to build its new 90-acre European headquarters in the Bristol green belt.
North Somerset Council’s planning committee voted 9-4 to grant planning permission for the large campus near Long Ashton on January 15. Epic said the campus would create about 2,150 high quality jobs in life sciences and generate £140 gross value added to the economy each year — but it has been majorly controversial locally because it will be located on what is considered to be the most valuable stretch of green belt in North Somerset.
In the company’s first comments since being granted planning permission, a spokesperson for Epic said: “We are pleased that North Somerset Council supports our plans for the Epic Long Ashton Campus. This will be a highly sustainable development that uses renewable energy sources, preserves most of the campus as open space, and improves the ecology of the area through renaturalisation of Ashton Brook and increased biodiversity.
“It is a significant investment in North Somerset and the UK, and it will help us support the growing community of UK organisations that use Epic to provide health and social care. We look forward to building a positive long-term relationship with North Somerset Council and the wider Long Ashton and North Somerset community.”
North Somerset councillor Mark Canniford (Weston-super-Mare Hillside, Liberal Democrat), the council’s executive member responsible for economy, also welcomed the planning committee’s decision to approve the plans. He said: “This poses a huge opportunity for the whole of North Somerset and shows that North Somerset is open for business and we want to see opportunities like this all over the district.”
But the plans have been divisive — even within the council’s executive. The executive member responsible for sustainability — and local councillor for the neighbouring Winford ward — Annemieke Waite (Green) said: “For everyone who lives along the A38, this is a bad decision. And we are going to live to regret it.”
Long Ashton Parish Council said it felt “profound disappointment” at the decision. The parish council said: “The development will transform Long Ashton from a distinct rural community into what will effectively become a conurbation of Bristol, causing significant and irreparable harm to local heritage assets and valuable agricultural land.
“The approval contradicts overwhelming local opposition, with 96% of submissions to the Planning Portal objecting to the development. It also disregards formal objections from numerous statutory bodies, Bristol City Council, and other parish councils in North Somerset.”
The plans will see office buildings, a 3,000-seater auditorium, and solar field built across the landscaped campus between the Long Ashton Bypass and the South Bristol Link Road. Epic is headquartered near Madison, Wisconsin where its sprawling campus includes a mock castle and a cafeteria building designed to look like King’s Cross Station.