Long Ashton councillor Ash Cartman has resigned from the Liberal Democrat group on North Somerset Council “in disgust” following the approval of a contentious 90-acre tech campus in the green belt between the village and Bristol.
The project, proposed by American healthcare technology firm Epic for their European headquarters, has sparked significant local debate. It promises to create over 2,000 high-quality jobs and is expected to generate £140m in economic activity for the area.
However, it will be situated on what is considered the most valuable stretch of green belt in North Somerset, raising concerns among Long Ashton residents about being “subsumed into Bristol.”
During the planning committee meeting on January 15, Mr Cartman expressed his disapproval, saying: “It’s clear to me from this application that Bristol gets the jobs, Weston gets the money, and Long Ashton gets the hassle.”
Despite his objections, the committee voted 9-4 in favour of the development, reports Somerset Live.
Elected as Long Ashton’s Liberal Democrat councillor in 2019, Mr Cartman remains a member of the national party but has stepped down from the council group. He explained his decision, stating: “I left the group in disgust at the way the council and my group handled this matter, and members of the committee.”
The Liberal Democrat faction at the council, bolstered by a few independent councillors, has been integral to the governing ‘partnership administration’ since 2019. The recent resignation of Mr Cartman leaves the group with 11 members, which remains the second-largest presence on the council following the Conservatives who are not part of the leadership alliance.
On recounting his decision to step down, Mr Cartman expressed: “It was a very hard decision and its been quite painful. It feels like a divorce.”
He further disclosed: “These are people that you share an outlook with, that’s why you’re in the group. You share a way of seeing the world and you share a view of what’s important and what’s not important. And you build relationships and then to sever that quite quickly is a big decision. But I am happy it was the right decision.”
Loyal to the Liberal Democrats since 2010 and having campaigned as their parliamentary candidate for North Somerset twice, Mr Cartman served on the council executive from 2019 through 2023. Still, he insisted: “My first loyalty is to my community, not my political party. And when those clash you have to make a choice.”
Despite being composed of elected councillors, the planning committee’s decisions are intended to be non-political. Both Liberal Democrat councillors on the committee voted in favour of the plans, and Mark Canniford, the Liberal Democrat executive member for economy, also supported and welcomed the decision.
Following the meeting, Mr Canniford stated: “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.”
However, Mr Cartman cautioned that the council had made its decision under pressure from the government agenda, not based on what was right locally. He expressed: “Its like a forerunner of whats going to be happening across the whole UK. You have got these tensions between planning, economic growth, and the environment which are going to be playing out everywhere.”
“It feels like they have come here first. […] How do councils stand up to things like this when they have got no money and no resources? “.
He added: “The pressure from the centre for local councils to give way on stuff like this is absolutely immense. Added to that, we’ve got no money. […] We are not doing the right things because of all these other factors that are pressing on us.”
“Its a sad day for local democracy.”
He expressed his concerns: “People from elsewhere may just think we’re NIMBYs but the reality is that if we tolerate this, they are coming for you next. What process would you like in your community if this happened to you? “.
Epic, however, stood by its project plans, with a company representative asserting: “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.”
They also highlighted the significance of the investment, stating: “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.”
Mr Cartman said: “My own view now is that the chances of opposing this are slim to non-existent and so therefore it’s important that we let the dust settle and build bridges with Epic and hold them to what they have promised.
“They have said they want to be good neighbours and we need to tell them that we are able to be good neighbours even though we have disagreed.”