The first major development to transform a huge area of industrial estates near the centre of Bristol has been announced, with developers saying their plan will ‘kickstart’ a wider council strategy to see more than 2,000 homes and a new suburb built there.
Landowners and developers have teamed up to propose an initial 850 new homes – almost half of which will be for students and the rest as ‘build-to-rent’ flats – on part of the large industrial estate that currently occupies land between the railway line and the New Cut River Avon in Bedminster.
Bristol City Council has already published a ‘regeneration framework’ for the entire ‘Whitehouse Lane’ area from Bedminster Parade east to Totterdown, with more than 2,000 new homes planned in what will effectively be a new residential extension to Bedminster on the land below Victoria Park.
Now, developers Galliard Homes and Apsley House Capital, which owns some of the land onto which the current post-war industrial estates have been built, are putting forward the first phase of that redevelopment, at Princess Street. They are holding a consultation event at Windmill Hill City Farm next Monday to show their plans, and will then launch a website with full details of what they are proposing.
What’s proposed is 450 new ‘build-to-rent’ homes – where the developer maintains ownership and rents out the flats privately – and a purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) complex with rooms for 400 students. The flats will be one, two, and three bedroomed homes, and of the 450, some 20 per cent, or 90 flats, will be let at cheaper rates by a housing association to people through the council’s HomeChoice system.
That 20 per cent affordable rate is lower than the 30 per cent the council stipulates for Bedminster, but when the previous Labour council administration drew up the Whitehouse Lane regeneration framework it set the affordable housing levels at 20 per cent, despite the council itself owning much of the land there.
As well as the new homes, the development will also include ‘new green spaces’, and a spokesperson for Apsley House Capital said it there would be: “15,000 sqft of new ground floor spaces that could be used for local businesses, by the community, for healthcare and for cafes…depending on what is needed and what works best to create a vibrant place.”
“The ambition for the area is to create a thriving neighbourhood with new homes, better community, cultural and public spaces, and new job opportunities,” he said. “As part of Bristol City Council’s Whitehouse Street Regeneration, we are proposing to redevelop the land between Princess Street and Whitehouse Street in Bedminster. Our scheme will help kickstart this important regeneration.
The drop-in event at Windmill Hill City Farm is on Monday, December 9, between 3pm and 7.30pm. “From December 9 you will also be able to read about our plans – and provide your comments – on our website. We expect to hold a second event in mid-January as our plans progress further to reflect community feedback,” they added.