Despite the surge in Bristol's house prices finally slowing down this month and predictions of a crash next year, getting on the property ladder is still out of the question for many residents in the city. As living costs continue to rise at a faster pace than people's income, the need to find solutions to the housing crisis is even more pressing.
Figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities showed 21,851 households were waiting for a council house in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, as of March 2021. That was even before the financial pressures of recent months.
This week one Bristol Post reader suggested looking into 'meanwhile homes' as a temporary measure to accommodate people while they wait to be housed. According to an article by construction company Thurston, which describes itself as "leaders in quality modular and portable buildings", 'meanwhile housing’ is temporary housing built on vacant land until it’s needed for other purposes.
Read more: Bristol mum shocked by state of 'filthy' council house with 'faeces on walls'
Thurston's explanation adds: "It’s actively encouraged to help move families out of unsuitable and poor temporary housing and into a more affordable, beautiful looking home. The UK’s first ‘pop up’ village was built on vacant land in Southeast London in 2016 to successfully house families who were forced to live in B&Bs until more permanent homes were sourced.
"With planning known to be a notoriously long and difficult process, ‘meanwhile housing’ can provide a temporary solution. It also means that the land isn’t sitting vacant for years. While the planning process is in motion and the land is left unused, families can live in nicer housing while they wait for more permanent homes and stay out of B&Bs."
In a letter published in this week, Bristol Post reader Simon Lloyd wrote:
"Bristol has a housing crisis, there’s no doubt about that. We have sky-high prices to buy and very high rents too.
"Younger people in particular are facing a very hard time of it. We urgently need to provide more homes, and preferably the kind of homes that people want to actually live in.
"That means more homes and not high-rise tower blocks with questionable cladding and fire risks. One part of the solutions mix could be what are called “meanwhile homes”.
"These are modular homes put up quickly and less expensively on brownfield (pre-used) land. They can provide temporary housing and then be taken down easily later on and dismantled so that the land can be used for other things, including for “permanent” housing.
"London it is claimed could create 250,000 homes like that. If Bristol can do the same, then maybe we could provide 14,000 to 15,000 homes this way.
"Pie in the sky? Maybe, but it should be looked into.
"The cynics, carpers, whingers and unhappy sceptics should look at things positively. There are lots of people around who will moan and groan and prefer to stay in their misery and ignorance rather than consider real world solutions.
"Let them stew in their own ignorance and negative waves. We should build communities as they did in the past, and build them near good transport links.
“Meanwhile homes”, meanwhile, could help people in housing need. Worth looking into!"
While they weren't referred to as 'meanwhile homes' and were designed to be permanent rather than temporary, Bristol did successfully trial zero-carbon modular apartments were part of Hope Rise. The project built homes on stilts above a St George car park, to help young adults at risk of homelessness.
Earlier this year, Bristol City Council's cabinet member for housing delivery commended the Hope Rise scheme, and said "innovation is essential as we seek to deliver homes fit for the future to meet Bristol’s housing need".
Do you think 'meanwhile homes' could help to address Bristol's housing crisis? Let us know in the comments section below
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