Council owned housing company to take on major Bristol development project
Goram Homes will work to build over 1,400 homes at Hengrove Park
A Bristol City Council owned housing company is being put in charge of a major development project in Hengrove.
The council wants to build more than 1,400 homes at Hengrove Park, half of which will be council homes.
A press release calls it a "major signal of intent from the council to boost its housing stock".
At the end of last year the council put the scheme out to tender, but no private company stepped forward to take on the work, so it is now being given to Goram Homes, which is owned by the council itself.
"This change of approach was taken to maximise the number of affordable homes, allow a greater proportion of the homes to be built using innovative, low carbon MMC (modern methods of construction), and help to transform Hengrove Park into a high-quality, sustainable neighbourhood and public park," a statement reads.
Councillor Tom Renhard, Cabinet Lead for Housing Delivery and Homes, said: “Adding Hengrove Park to the Goram Homes pipeline is a clear signal of our intent to supercharge the delivery of affordable housing across Bristol.
"We’re committed to delivering 1,000 new affordable homes each year by 2024 to help meet the need for high-quality, sustainable new homes in the city.
"By working closely with Goram Homes, we can make sure that council land is best used to create value for Bristol’s citizens, helps to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, and addresses inequalities in access to affordable housing.”
The announcement comes a week before the council’s new Affordable Housing Delivery Plan, ‘Project 1000’, goes before Cabinet.
That will outline how the council will work to built 1,000 new affordable homes every year by 2024.
Stephen Baker, Managing Director at Goram Homes, said: “Hengrove Park is a fantastic opportunity for Goram Homes to build a highly sustainable, inclusive development which includes affordable homes in the numbers that our city needs.
"If our Business Plan and development pipeline is approved by Cabinet, we’ll work with council officers and the community to get started as soon as possible.”
Outline planning consent was granted in early 2020.
The Goram Homes Business Plan, including the proposals for Hengrove Park, will go to Bristol City Council’s Cabinet for approval in March.
The council does not expect to need to resubmit a planning application for the site.