Work to build a new development that will create almost 100 new flats in a huge shared ownership scheme has finally got underway after years of delays.
The development at the Old Brewery at the end of North Street in Ashton Gate was originally given planning permission before the pandemic, and since then has changed to be 100 per cent ‘affordable’.
Of the 107 new homes being built there, 98 will be available to buy through a shared ownership scheme with housing association Abri, and the other nine will be rented through the council’s HomeChoice scheme at social rent levels.
Read more: Controversial "poor door" to 'huge' housing block approved
The original developers won planning permission despite scores of objections - mainly about the height of the buildings and the lack of parking spaces - but had failed to start work on their plans before the pandemic. So they sold the site to Abri, who turned the planned 98 upmarket flats into shared ownership ones, with the help of grant funding from Homes England to be able to afford to buy the site entirely.
The project, which was criticised locally for being an example of the 'hipster gentrification' of Ashton Gate when they were first proposed as a private development and marketed as being 'in Southville', remains physically unchanged from those initial days in 2019 and 2020 - apart from how the flats will be sold. The development will see two tower blocks constructed - one of nine storeys, and the other of eight - on the Old Brewery site, which is on the corner of North Street and Ashton Road.
The mayor of Bristol paid a visit to mark the start of construction of the tower blocks, and praised the development. Abri are yet to release the asking price for 40 or 50 per cent ownership of the one, two and three bedroom flats. Two-bed flats on the Paxton Drive development on the other side of Greville Smyth Park are currently on the market to buy outright for between £265,000 and £295,000, so flats in the Old Brewery development are likely to be between £100,000 and £200,000 for a 40 or 50 per cent share.
Bristol City Council’s housing chief Tom Renhard said: “I welcome the progress being made to get vitally needed affordable homes built at The Old Brewery. This will see over 100 affordable homes delivered for people in need, making a fundamental difference to their lives.”
The Old Brewery site backs onto another of Ashton Gate's old industrial sites - the Old Dairy - which controversially won planning permission last week, despite an outcry over a 'poor door' system where residents of the 'affordable' element of the accommodation will have to use a separate door to their flats.
The Old Brewery development, with 98 shared ownership flats being built, isn’t quite the biggest shared ownership project currently under construction - the ‘Totterdown Heights’ tower block on the Bath Road next to Totterdown Bridge is 100 per cent ‘affordable’, with 112 of the 152 new homes for shared ownership and 40 for affordable rent.
As well as now being classed as 100 per cent 'affordable', the Old Brewery development in Ashton Gate will include provision to add its heating system onto the Bristol City Council District Heat Network, when it eventually reaches Ashton Gate.
Mayor Marvin Rees said: “It’s great to see these homes starting to be built and to hear about the plans for the community. Bristol has a twin challenge of needing to deliver more homes, while also addressing the climate crisis. The Old Brewery will help us to achieve our ambitious goals by regenerating formerly disused land and providing vital affordable homes in a place where people can use active travel options,” he added.
There is one bus service that serves North Street, the 24, which has recently been the subject of controversial cuts further along the route, with residents of nearby Ashton Vale complaining that they have been cut off from the rest of Bristol.
As well as the 107 flats, Abri are also planning to include seven business units fronting the main road of North Street, as part of the development. Bosses at Abri said they have big plans to build 12,500 new homes across the region. Abri are the housing association involved in the Castle Park View development in the city centre, as well as one at Bath Road in Brislington, which was finally given planning permission earlier this month.
“It was a pleasure to meet with Mayor Rees to mark this significant milestone as work begins on these affordable homes that will have a transformative impact for the community,” said Michelle Hyde, Abri’s head of land and planning.
“Abri is committed to building 12,500 new homes by 2030 and helping to address climate change. At The Old Brewery we want to help support the Southville community by not only providing affordable homes at scale but also local services and homes that are efficient to run and minimise their environmental impact,” she added.
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