News / st george
Hopes St George ZED Pod housing model can be replicated for former offenders
Housing for ex-prisoners or first-time buyers could be created in the air space above Bristol’s car parks within a year, the deputy mayor has said.
Asher Craig wants to build on the success of the ZED Pods – prefab homes on stilts in Chalks Road for young people who had been homeless – with other innovative schemes to tackle the growing waiting list.
She said homes could be provided as so-called meanwhile uses on brownfield sites before they are developed and in buildings Bristol City Council no longer needs after the pandemic prompted a review of its estate.
is needed now More than ever
It comes after police and crime commissioner Mark Shelford called on council leaders across Avon and Somerset to find land for prefabricated properties that could be built by and for former prisoners to help reduce reoffending.
Asher Craig wants to build on the success of the ZED Pods – photo: Ellie Pipe
Craig told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Some of the young people at Hope Rise [the Zed Pod project] have turned their lives around, they’ve secured permanent jobs and one has been promoted within about six months. It gives people security and hope.
“Let’s take the same idea and adapt it for people coming out of the criminal justice system. A lot of people are coming out who are homeless.
“On sites where there’s going to be a delay we could do something temporary, we could use shipping containers. We own a lot of brownfield sites.
“I’d like to take what we’ve done and use it across the city for a whole range of different needs to help us address the housing shortage. I’m keen that we can do this and make it happen within the next year.”
The council and Salvation Army plan to provide move-on accommodation in the Derby Street car park in St George – photo courtesy of The Salvation Army
The council is teaming up with the Salvation Army to build eight modular homes in a car park off Church Road to provide supported move-on accommodation for people facing homelessness, while elsewhere in the city shipping containers have been converted for housing for rough sleepers.
Craig added: “In light of Covid we’re also reviewing many of our buildings that are basically going to be empty. We’ve identified a number of buildings we want to give up. We’re looking at what we can sell, what we can hand to the community and what can be regenerated for housing.
“Bristol is a progressive city. We’re there to showcase what can be done.
“The waiting list has gone from 12,000 when we came in in 2016 and it’s now around 16,000. Half of the graduates stay in the city, we’re a young city. We’ve got to cater for the needs of these young people.”
Backing the deputy mayor’s ideas, Shelford said building homes can teach prisoners valuable skills and give them somewhere to live.
Main photo: ZED Pods
Stephen Sumner is a local democracy reporter
Read more: Latest plans to build modular homes on car park
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
