News / Politics
Councils signs up to plan for 85k new homes
The council has approved a move to work with neighbouring authorities to develop a joint plan to provide 85,000 new homes in and around the city.
Some 56,000 new homes already have permission or are planned within Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset Council.
But a new Joint Spatial Plan has identified that 29,000 more homes are needed by 2036. The plan, which is in a first step towards devising concrete proposals, was passed by councillors at a meeting of full council on Tuesday night.
is needed now More than ever
A consultation has already been launched to work out how to deal with the “growing need” and help the areas be “economically successful”.
It suggests four possible options: building more homes within city limits, extending Bristol into countryside in North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, expanding towns on the outside of Bristol or creating new towns. No sites have been identified for the last option.
Councillor Helen Holland, Labour leader, said Bristol must not fall behind due to its mayor system which she argued could hamper engagement with the consultation. She urged people to get involved with the consultation.
Alastair Watson, Conservative, Westbury-on-Trym, said the housing crisis needed to be tackled with the plan. “Large numbers of affordable homes need to be built wihtin the next several years and beyond,” he said.
Green Party’s Charlie Bolton, councillor for Southville, said infrastructure must also be improved to keep up with changing demographics and high density housing within the city.
Anthony Negus, Lib Dem, Cotham, said the proposals were just “part of the plan” to solve the housing crisis, adding that the Joint Spatial Plan was essentially just a “plan for a plan”. The council is due to return to the issue when it draws up more detailed local proposals.
Mayor George Ferguson said: “We are going to have to be quite open minded about the sort of city we are going to develop.” He added that he supported high density living. “It’s right that as a city we adapt. There will be some changes in terms of our skyline,” he added.