Brislington residents can have their say on a house building project promising up to 370 'much-needed' homes, including almost 200 affordable properties, at drop-in sessions today and tomorrow.
Householders are invited to have their say on plans for the redevelopment of the Castle Court site by Sovereign Housing Association, which will include options ranging from one-bedroom apartments to family homes. Bristol Live exclusively revealed in March that Sovereign had acquired the land for £9m, with a car dealership located on the site saying at the time that its future was uncertain as a result.
Face-to-face feedback sessions with the project’s design team will take place at Arnos Manor Hotel, on Bath Road, between 4pm and 7pm. Have your say on Sovereign Housing Association plans for Brislington
Read more: Housing association buys prominent car dealership site for £9m
Located between Paintworks to the West, the River Avon to the north, existing terraced housing to the south, and St Philips Causeway to the east, the site is set to be transformed into a 'high-quality residential development within a strong landscape setting'.
This will involve the demolition of existing buildings including garages and a car dealership, making way for green spaces, creating 'a high-quality public realm with a range of landscaped squares, routes and gardens', Sovereign says.
These green spaces will be planted with native trees and flowers to increase biodiversity, with surrounding buildings arranged to maximise sunlight reaching them.
The housing association says the layout of the scheme is sympathetic to the surrounding neighbourhood, with buildings up to 20 storeys tall near St Phillips Causeway and low-rise properties closer to existing houses off Bath Road.
The plans also include around 500 square metres of 'flexible spaces', to accommodate a café and community amenities. Other features include a mobility hub with car club spaces and electric scooter parking, generous cycle parking and a Changing Places facility.
James Gibson, Sovereign’s development director, said: “We believe that everyone should live in a home and a place where they feel safe, part of their community and where they can thrive.
“Our vision is to create a flagship residential-led development which sets out our commitment to build and maintain well-designed, high-quality homes in great places to live now and the future.”
He added: “Unlike most housebuilders, we are driven not by profit but by social purpose. We invest for the long term, in places and people, and we care about the homes we build long after they are built.”
Details of the proposals are now available to view on the Sovereign website, along with the opportunity to give feedback via an online survey.
The first round of public consultation will run until 26 August, with feedback helping to shape more developed design proposals. A second round of consultation will then take place in the Autumn, prior to submission of a planning application by the end of the year.
