Plans have been unveiled for 2,000 new homes in Bedminster as part of a major regeneration project. Bristol City Council is consulting the public on a master plan for the area around Whitehouse Street, which could radically change over the next few years.
The area lies on the other side of the railway from Victoria Park, in the north-east edge of Bedminster. The council is hoping to regenerate the brownfield site as part of its bid to build thousands of new homes to cater for Bristol’s rapidly growing population.
Regenerating the area could take 15 years, with the first phase taking between two to five years. While plans were first revealed early last year, many more details have now been published as part of a draft regeneration framework, which will guide how the area develops.
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The industrial area around Whitehouse Street currently has several businesses but few homes, and would be completely transformed into a residential area. The thousands of new residents could help to support the run-down East Street, a nearby shopping centre. 15,000 square metres of employment space would also be created for 400 jobs
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: “The long term ambition is to create a neighbourhood with high quality new homes to accommodate Bristol’s growing population, that delivers inclusive economic growth and supports community development. We hope to bring new residents to the area to strengthen the important economic and social function of Bedminster’s historic high street, East Street.
“By building on previously developed sites, creating new walking and cycling routes, and connecting homes and businesses to the district heat network, the Whitehouse Street scheme will also help our city reach its goal for further reducing carbon emissions.”
The new neighbourhood would be located close to the city centre and Temple Meads train station, and a new cycle route would be built connecting Whitehouse Street to Mead Street and Bedminster Green. The area used to be home to many tightly packed terraces, before being heavily bombed during the second world war.
The draft regeneration framework had input from community members, local landowners the Galliard Apsley Partnership and Hill, and council-owned developer Goram Homes. One community group involved in the draft was Action Greater Bedminster.
Ellie Freeman, chair of Action Greater Bedminster, said: “It’s good to see the final consultation coming forward after all the work the team has put in. I hope the community can see how their input has fed into the framework. Action Greater Bedminster has worked hard to make the most of the opportunities we’ve had over the last 18 months to bring people’s views into the plans. It’s important residents now feed into this final part of the process.”
The consultation runs until January 8 next year, and more details can be found by visiting www.whitehousestreet.com. Paper copies of the survey are also available at Bedminster Library and Windmill Hill CIty Farm. After some final amendments, the regeneration framework will go to the cabinet for approval early next year.
A similar regeneration project is also planned on two neighbouring sites around Mead Street and Bedminster Green. Planning permission was recently given for the first of many likely developments there, for 221 flats on the former site of Bart Spices warehouses, while huge student flats are already under construction off Malago Road.
Read next
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- Former Bristol Zoo site's first new homes up for approval again amid concerns
- Huge new 260-bed block of student flats given planning permission
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