The Hill Group has started work on site to deliver the first phase of new affordable homes at Hengrove Park, in South Bristol, for Goram Homes, Bristol City Council’s housing company.
Councillor Tom Renhard, Bristol City Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, joined directors from Hill and Goram Homes to break ground at the development on the 10th October.
There are over 4,000 households in the south of the city on the housing register. This first stage of this landmark development will start to address the need for affordable one- and two-bedroom properties, helping to get people off the housing register and into homes.
The 53 affordable, energy-efficient properties, being built at the entrance of Hengrove Park, comprise 27 apartments for social rent and 26 apartments for shared ownership.
More than 1,430 homes will be built by Goram Homes, and its development partners, on the wider former-airport site, half of which will be affordable. This forms part of Bristol City Council’s commitment to support and enable 1000 new affordable homes to be built across the city, each year by 2024. The masterplan for the project also includes significant improvements to benefit the Hengrove Park community, including new commercial and office spaces, a community centre, sports pavilion, scout hut, an energy centre and the expansion of local transport options.
Subsequent development phases will also include training and employment opportunities for local residents, in partnership with the neighbouring South Bristol Skills Academy, which offers a range of vocational and specialist courses for adults and school leavers in the area.
Cllr Tom Renhard commented: “This marks the start of a flagship development for South Bristol, which will go on to deliver much-needed new homes for our city. By working together, we can develop high-quality, sustainable homes on council land. This will help more of our citizens access social housing and give more options for affordable home ownership too.”
Stephen Baker, Managing Director at Goram Homes said: “Hengrove Park will be a highly sustainable residential development, with affordable homes in the numbers our city really needs. We’ll also improve local infrastructure, introduce new sustainable transport options and build community facilities to benefit local people. We look forward to engaging with the community as these plans progress.”
Speaking at the ceremony to mark the start of construction on site. Andy Fancy, Managing Director at The Hill Group, commented: “We are proud to have been selected to work in partnership with Goram Homes to build these homes in Bristol. Today marks the first milestone on site as we break ground to create this exciting new residential quarter.
“We look forward to exploring future ways we can apply our strong expertise in delivering extensive regeneration projects to support the local community and to continue our excellent partnership with Goram Homes and Bristol City Council, helping them achieve their ambitious housebuilding targets for the area.”
Goram Homes was established in 2019 by Bristol City Council to help meet the demand for new housing in the city. Working in partnership with the council and the private sector, Goram Homes aims to create communities which are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
The first phase of the development delivers two symmetrical buildings known as Hengrove Bookends, designed to provide an impressive gateway into Hengrove Park thanks to their distinctive architecture and blue brick walls.
Goram Homes’ partner on the Hengrove Bookends scheme, award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group, has an impressive track record in delivering large-scale regeneration projects across the UK. Hill has established a strong presence in the South West in recent years, including working with Goram Homes on an additional Bristol scheme at Baltic Wharf on Spike Island.
