Media Enquiries
Cheltenham Civic SocietyCheltenham Civic Society
DonateJoin us
  • Welcome
  • Heritage hub
  • Events
    • Civic Day
    • Heritage Open Days
  • Planning
    • Planning Forum
  • Campaigns
    • Successful Streets
    • Battlefield Crosses Museum
  • About us
    • The Trustees
    • History
    • Join us
    • Corporate membership
    • Policies
  • News
    • Newsletters
  • Downloads
DonateJoin us

Civic Society proposes better solution to open up the riverside in the town centre

Posted on February 19, 2022

Cheltenham Civic Society will soon be looking for planning approval for an alternative scheme for the repair of the river wall between Cambray Court and Rodney Road car park. This will create a new riverside park in the centre of Cheltenham.

The view from Rodney Road with Cambray Court on the left and the Rodney Road car park on the right – an initial illustration of the Civic Society’s scheme.

The river currently flows through a brick-walled canyon – seen here from Rodney Road with Cambray Court’s existing garages on the left and the Rodney Road car park on the right.

The 100-year-old brick retaining wall on Cambray Court’s side of the river needs to be repaired and the freeholder of the apartment blocks has already been granted planning consent for a like-for-like replacement of both the wall and the adjacent garages for the residents.

But the Civic Society thinks that it is a poor plan that will merely replicate the existing hard fabric and will keep the Chelt hidden away for perhaps another 100 years.

So the Civic Society has drawn up an alternative scheme that will open out the riverside on both sides and create a public footpath on the car park side and a private garden for Cambray Court residents on their side. The residents’ garages would be replaced with green-roofed garages, parking bays with solar canopies, storage units, a bin store and EV charging points.

The scheme will be much more environmentally friendly. It should also be cheaper than the landlord’s proposals because it would not involve all the flood prevention shuttering, excavations down to below river level, the pouring of large quantities of concrete and the compacting of large amounts of backfill. In contrast, the minimal disturbance of the watercourse by the Civic Society’s scheme would enhance the rich wildlife habitat to the benefit of species such as trout and kingfishers.

In informal pre-application consultations, Cheltenham Borough Council have said they like the Society’s scheme as it fits with their net zero and biodiversity policies. The Environment Agency has said that it would not increase the risk of flooding and would fit with their wish to see more green and blue infrastructure in Cheltenham.

Andrew Booton, Chair of the Civic Society, said: “We have consulted the residents of Cambray Court, who welcomed the ambition behind our proposals. We will be taking their feedback into account in our preparation of a full planning application for submission later this spring.

“If we are successful with this scheme, our long term aim would be to use this as a catalyst to open up further stretches of the river, create more public access and extend the riverside footpath both eastwards and westwards to improve walking and cycle routes across the town.

“Rather than just commenting on developers’ schemes and calling out poor design, this proposal also demonstrates the Society’s wish to be a much more pro-active, campaigning organisation that is prepared to show developers and both Cheltenham and Gloucestershire councils that there are often better ways to enhance our shared urban environment.

“You can expect to see much more of this in future.”

If the planning application receives consent, the Civic Society will work closely with the landowners, Cheltenham Borough Council and the Environment Agency to deliver the scheme. That may include helping with applications for funding that the Society, as a charity, can seek.

Previous Post
Circumspice 5: answer to mini-quiz item in December edition of OurTown
Next Post
Civic Society helps to set up independent new ‘friends’ group for Minster Gardens

Irony hits home hard as council uses the 131 precedent to justify Pump Room café proposal

30 May at 5:17 pm

Elms Park planning juggernaut ploughs on regardless

29 May at 7:49 pm

Cautious welcome for luxury hotel conversion of municipal offices

25 May at 5:34 pm

CCS statement in response to a local media enquiry about the lack of progress on CavHouse

1 May at 5:14 pm

Circumspice 18: answer to mini-quiz item in the spring edition of OurTown

28 Apr at 10:24 am

Archives

Corporate Members

Willans LLP Solicitors
University of Gloucestershire
County To County
Leckhampton Builders
hcrlaw
Savills
Cape Homes
EvansJones
Cheltenham Ladies' College
Everyman Theatre
Bence Builders Merchants

The Society welcomes new Corporate Members – see our Corporate Membership page

Cheltenham Civic Society is affiliated to Civic Voice, the national organisation for the civic movement in England.

Cheltenham Civic Society
Facebook
X
Instagram

Achievements

  • The Gordon Lamp
  • The Holst Statue
  • The Montpellier Bandstand
  • The Battlefield Crosses

Archives

  • AGM and Trustees’ Minutes
  • Planning Forum Minutes
  • Newsletters
  • E-Bulletins

Plaques & Awards

  • Commemorative Plaques
  • Civic Awards
  • Civic Awards Nominations
  • Previous Awards

Parmoor | 26 Cambray Place | Cheltenham | GL50 1JN

© 2025 Cheltenham Civic Society | Affiliated to Civic Voice | Registered Charity No. 1166580

Policies

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}