Bristol is falling behind other major cities in the provision of ‘build-to-rent’ apartment buildings, with the relatively new form of residential development much more common in places like Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham.
That’s the view – unsurprisingly – of one of the UK’s leading ‘build-to-rent’ developers, which has now submitted a planning application to build new blocks of rented apartments on the site of a historic sawmill next to the River Frome in St Judes.
The boss of the development company, which is called PLATFORM_, said there are only four operational ‘Build to Rent’ projects currently up and running in Bristol – and the city needed more, as it was proving an increasingly common development model in major cities across the country.
Build-to-rent (BtR) sees developers build apartment blocks but instead of selling as leaseholds on the open market to individual buyers who then live there, all the flats in the building are rented out to individual tenants instead. Developers like the idea because – in places with an acute housing crisis like Bristol, where rents are still spiralling – it guarantees a set financial return over time, rather than exposing themselves to the vagaries of the housing market. They are more likely to be able to rent out all the apartments quickly than sell them all.
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There are advantages for people renting too – often all the bills are included and rather than deal with an individual landlord whose ethics and performance could vary, the tenants in one block deal with the building’s management company instead.
There are downsides, however. BtR schemes in Bristol have been criticised for being inaccessible to people on average incomes. Bristol’s biggest so far includes the city’s tallest residential building at Castle Park View, in the city centre, where people are required to earn more than £40,000 a year to be able to apply to rent one of the flats.
Even though PLATFORM_ said the BtR sector in Bristol is still small, it is growing fast. Bristol didn’t see its first BtR development until the late 2010s, but now almost all of the big new developments that are currently under construction, have been given planning permission, or are being proposed for both the city centre and the piecemeal transformation of Bristol’s inner city industrial estate arc from the M32 to Bedminster, are either built to rent apartment buildings, or purpose-built student accommodation.
The big Stafford Yard development on Malago Road in Bedminster will see 295 build-to-rent flats coming on the market in just a few weeks’ time, while developments around Temple Meads, St Pauls and others in Bedminster are all planned to be build to rent.
PLATFORM_’s plan for the historic saw mills in St Jude’s were first revealed by Bristol Live last year, and now the developers have submitted a formal planning application. It’s part of a wider ‘Frome Gateway’ regeneration scheme, which will see hundreds of flats and student accommodation blocks built on the old industrial estates that are south of the M32 on the approach to Cabot Circus, either side of the River Frome.
The plan is for 350 build-to-rent flats, and other employment space on the 1.8 acre site, which will also open up the riverside area with the creation of a path and small open space park. There will also be a children’s playpark and allotments on the site.
The chief exec of PLATFORM_ is Jean-Marc Vandevivere. He said he hopes Bristol City Council ’s councillors will share his ‘vision’ for the area. “Bristol currently has just four operational BtR developments, meaning the provision of high-quality, purpose-built rental accommodation is far below that of other leading regional cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds,” he said.
“Our proposed development opens up a historic city-centre site that has been inaccessible to the public for over a century, retaining part of its heritage while offering unmatched amenities, accessibility and sustainability. Working with an expert project team, we have developed a unique and flexible residential offering that meets the needs of modern renters while creating a truly inclusive community,” he added.
“We have worked very collaboratively with teams across Bristol City Council, the Environment Agency, neighbours and other interested parties to create our vision for the site. The submission of this planning application represents an important milestone in the project, crystallising the design team’s hard work over the last year. We are confident that Bristol City Council will share our vision which offers significant social and economic value for the local economy and makes a significant contribution towards their housing delivery targets,” he said.
The transformation of St Jude’s from one with lots of industrial sites to one where thousands of people live is something Sam Gregory can’t wait for. He runs six pubs across Bristol, including the Crown Tavern, close to the sawmills site. “St Jude’s is a fantastic location, but it urgently needs investment and regeneration,” he said. “We fully support the proposals put forward by PLATFORM_ which will greatly enhance the area by adding high-quality, accessible homes and creating excellent walking and cycling links to the wider city, as well as opening up the waterfront,” he added.
“Crucially, these plans will also benefit the local hospitality sector, driving more visitors to businesses like the Crown Tavern and providing us with the opportunity to grow and invest further in the community,” he added.
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