Council cements our plans for 1,000 homes on site this year

Bristol City Council has approved our Business Plan for 2025/26, which sets out our plans for this year, and our path to building hundreds more homes for Bristol.

The plan outlines where we will be building this year, and which sites will be prioritised for detailed design work ahead of a future planning submission.

In 2025/26, we will start work on three more developments, bringing the total number of homes in construction to over 1,000.

• 166 new homes at Baltic Wharf, with 66 affordable homes (50 for social rent and 16 for shared ownership
• 209 homes in the first phase of the Hengrove Park masterplan
• A 70-homes wholly affordable extra care housing scheme at The Fosseway development, also in Hengrove

Cllr Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, said: “There is huge pressure being felt on housing supply in the city. Having our own housing company means we can turn council land into much needed new homes with high levels of affordable housing needed to help transform lives.

“With Goram Homes’ business plan approved, it now can get spades in the ground on more development sites this year, and make plans for its next phase of housebuilding. The company has made incredible progress so far, and this business plan secures even more new homes for Bristol.”

We are already building on four development sites across the city, which will deliver around 600 homes for Bristol. More than half of these homes are affordable housing for social rent and shared ownership.

Homeowners and council tenants are now living at our first development at One Lockleaze which, when complete, will provide 268 new homes, including 147 council-owned affordable homes for social rent and shared ownership.

Stephen Baker, managing director of Goram Homes, said: “Everyone deserves to live in a safe, good quality home, that they can afford; but unfortunately, this is not the case for many people in this city.

“Goram Homes’ partnership approach with the private sector means we can unlock complex developments on council-owned land, and make sure this land is best used to meet the city’s housing needs.

“With our plans given the greenlight, we will continue to build for Bristol, and I look forward to welcoming even more people into their new homes this year.”

Bristol City Council has asked us to develop plans for Plot 5 Bedminster Green, adding a 15^th site to Goram Homes’ development pipeline that could deliver over 3,000 homes in the longer term.

Stephen Baker added “We understand the issues raised by the community in previous consultations on Bedminster Green. We are keen to spend time getting to know the site and the local community before progressing any plans for new homes here”.

The plan also shows the four brownfield sites we will do detailed design work in the 2025/26 financial year, before taking the sites through planning (if appropriate) in future years:

• Hengrove Park phase two – the next phase of new homes in the Hengrove Park development. The landmark 1,435 home development id being brough forward in stages over the coming years.
• A Bond – starting early design work on plans to transform this iconic grade II listed former tobacco warehouse into new homes. This design work will be done in partnership with the council and the Western Harbour placemaking strategy.
• Novers Hill – seeking a partner to build around 50 new homes at this brownfield site in Filwood
• Transforming the former St Ursula’s school in Henleaze into housing.

The Business Plan also highlights B Corp certified Goram Homes’ high sustainability targets. Many of the homes it’s building will be Net Zero carbon and have an EPC rating of A. Each development will also improve wildlife and nature on each site by more than 10% – exceeding policy targets for Biodiversity Net Gain.