Plans revealed to regenerate area of south Bristol

A framework has been put together on plans to regenerate an area of the city that is home to both residents and industrial workers.

The voices of local communities, businesses and landowners have been at the heart of plans to transform the area around Whitehouse Street in Bedminster.

The regeneration framework outlines plans to build around 2,000 new homes and to make room for 15,000 square metres of employment space which could create around 400 jobs on the existing brownfield site.

This space could be used for a range of jobs, but there is a focus on light industrial businesses which already operate from the area.

This map shows plans for the regeneration project for the area around Whitehouse Street in Bedminster – photo: Stride Treglown

The area around Whitehouse Street is currently home to a range of commercial and light-industrial uses and vacant plots of land.

Action Greater Bedminster, Goram Homes, local landowners, members of the public, and the Galliard Apsley Partnership and Hill, have worked together with Bristol City Council to develop the regeneration framework draft for the area.

Action Greater Bedminster and the council began gathering the thoughts of local residents and community groups at the start of 2021 through online questionnaires and an interactive map.

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said this kind of “exciting” planning is exactly what the city needs to be doing amid Bristol’s housing crisis. He said: “We are made up of 42 square miles, we have 472,000 people and we have 17,000 people on the housing waiting list. We have a housing crisis. We have a finite piece of land and we have to meet the crisis within that finite land mass so we have to build more densely.

“But we also have a climate and ecological emergency as well so we have to regenerate the city in a way that respects those planetary boundaries that we must not go beyond.

“We want to build within active travel zones. We want to build on brownfield sites, rather than consuming new land which we’re trying to protect for nature under the ecological strategy, trying to protect 30 per cent of Bristol nature.

“This project meets that, it’s on a brownfield site, it’s 2,000 homes, it’s 5000 people, there’s workspace here as well. It’s a really innovative, efficient use of land.

“I really appreciate everyone who’s worked to make it happen and the amazing work that’s gone into engaging with the community. It’s really good news for the city.”

Rees said this is unlike many planning projects which are often put forward “without thinking about humans, engagement, narrative and culture”.

He added: “It’s been an incredible piece of work and a real exemplar of the way we want to approach regeneration work across the rest of the city.”

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said this kind of “exciting” project is exactly what the city needs to be doing amid Bristol’s housing crisis. – photo: Rachel Sutherland

Ellie Freeman, chair of Action Greater Bedminster, said feedback on the plans has been mainly positive. She recalled some recent positive feedback from someone involved in the process. “She said to me that there’s a real sense from what she’s seen of a community voice coming through, she said she felt like some of the things in the framework and plans people have seen to date have reflected what the community had said and said it was good to see things being done differently – we’ve had lots of other comments like that as well.

“We’ve tried to be as open and transparent as possible and to let people know what they can and can’t influence to help people really understand the process behind it all.

“Since February 2021, we’ve met with disability groups, local planning groups, schools and held events at Windmill Hill City Farm. Because this is quite a long-running project, it’s allowed us time to build up this engagement with a wide range of people.”

The plans also include improving connections to adjacent areas, including Mead Street and Temple Meads, along with better routes to Bedminster Parade and East Street.

Freeman also mentioned the importance of creating green spaces by planting trees, creating green corridors and spaces for the community to gather outside.

Ellie Freeman, chair of Action Greater Bedminster said the general consensus for the plans have been positive – photo: Rachel Sutherland

The work will be carried out over a 15-year period, with the first phase set to begin in the next two to five years.

It’s not too late to have your say on the proposed plans, you can contribute by sharing your views via an online form from November 17, 2022, until January 8, 2023. To find out more visit: https://www.whitehousestreet.com/

To request an ‘easy read’ or posted paper copy of the survey, you can email: hello@whitehousestreet.com

Marvin Rees and Ellie Freeman gathered with representatives from partner landowners Hill, the Galliard Apsley partnership and Goram Homes – photo: Rachel Sutherland

There will also be in-person events at Windmill Hill City Farm to look out for, along with neighbourhood walking tours.

Main photo: Rachel Sutherland

Read next:

• First of its kind Braille gaming device created in Bedminster 
• Meet the Bedminster residents starring in a Channel 4 series
• What happened to the minster in Bedminster?
• Plans revealed for 85 new homes on former lead works site

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: