Donard Affordable Homes’ plans to redevelop an industrial building in Bristol into 221 build-to-rent homes is set for refusal this week, after hundreds of nearby residents complained about a scheme described as “soulless” and “an eyesore”.
The company has proposed redeveloping the brownfield site on the corner of York Road and St Luke’s Road, once occupied by spices distributor Bart Ingredients. In its place the company wants to build two six- and 10-storey buildings including homes and 7,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Some 30% of the homes would be delivered as affordable private rent, with the remainder offered at a discount to market rent.
But planning officers at Bristol City Council have recommended the application for refusal this week, saying the quality of the accommodation would be “compromised” and poor light levels encouraging greater energy usage, as well as criticising its height and mass.
The officers also noted a “significant” amount of opposition locally. The application faced more than 300 resident objections submitted to the Council individually.
There has been a petition with more than 4,000 signatures objecting to the addition of height in the wider Mead Street area. Residents had concerns about the scale and design of the development, with one claiming that the development “looks like a concrete canyon and would be soulless and an eyesore”.
Since an initial application, the developer has reduced the number of homes planned from 244 to 221 and lowered one of the blocks by a storey in response to the local outcry.
“Officers have been working on this proposal with the applicant for more than a year, and during the process have raised a number of concerns relating to the overall design of the scheme,” the Council’s report said.
“Revisions have been made to the application, however, as set out in this report, it is not considered that a good quality scheme is proposed that would successfully deliver on the overall aspirations for the area. In addition, it is not considered that the quality of the scheme itself justifies the high density, level of harm that would arise, and the weight required to be placed on emerging policy for it to be supported.”
The Council has committed to the delivery of 33,500 homes by 2036, and expects the Mead Street area to be capable of delivering around 1,500 of these.
Explore and compare property in Bristol here >>
To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews
