Bristol housing plans scaled back over fears for wildlife
An ecological report has found Western Slopes in Knowle West to be of significant environmental importance
Environmental campaigners in Bristol are celebrating after plans to build hundreds of homes on green space were scaled back.
There were plans to build more than 400 homes at Western Slopes in Knowle West, but that's now been cut to just 70 after an ecological report found the area to be a home for a large amount of wildlife.
Mayor Marvin Rees requested a new ecological report after residents suggested there was important wildlife on the land at Novers Hill.
Marvin Rees said: “We need to tackle the housing crisis in Bristol, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of our commitments to confronting the climate and ecological emergencies.
"It’s now clear that Western Slopes is a hugely important wildlife corridor and ecologically significant site.
"We are committed to tackling the ecological emergency head on so it’s only right that we pause the proposals for development of council land on Western Slopes."
The council have now allocated to Goram Homes a much smaller area of brownfield land for new homes on the previously developed site of the old school near Belstone Walk and part of the existing stables.
At the same time, the council will now look for other areas where the rest of the homes can be built instead.
"This could involve increasing the density of current developments or identifying new sites to locate the much-needed new affordable housing," a statement from the council reads.
"Cities are complicated with competing demands and where we locate new homes and how they are built is a nuanced debate," Marvin Rees continued.
"Bristol has limited space, and, if we want to protect green spaces, this means building more densely in brownfield locations, close to sustainable travel, jobs, and public spaces.
"We now need to find other, more suitable sites for these desperately needed new homes, and to make sure we meet the current and future needs of Bristol’s citizens as we do.”
The Avon Wildlife Trust have called the announcement "fantastic news".
"It is more important than ever that we preserve important wildlife corridors and protect areas of ecological significance," chief executive Ian Barrett said.
"The Western Slopes play a key role in Bristol’s nature networks and I am delighted that we have found a way to protect them."
The development is part of a range of sites in the Goram Homes Pipeline Review that will go to Bristol City Council’s Cabinet in March.
In response to feedback from two public consultations, Knowle West Health Park will be removed from the pipeline of sites allocated to Goram Homes, and the council will no longer pursue the development of this site.
It comes as earlier this week the council announced it is adding the major development at Hengrove Park to the Goram Homes development pipeline, enabling around 700 new affordable homes to be built in south Bristol.