News / Housing
Controversial plans for new homes ‘with best view of Bristol’ approved
Plans for a residential development with perhaps the best view of Bristol have been approved despite local opposition.
Bristol City Council has given itself permission to build 34 new homes on open space at the top of a hill between Knowle West and Bedminster.
The site at Kingswear Road is part of the Northern Slopes, and is made up of green space and the footprint of flats that were demolished in 2011.
is needed now More than ever
The council has given itself permission to build 34 new homes on the site of former flats and part of the green space surrounding it – photo: Bristol City Council
But the Northern Slopes Initiative, which looks after the site, has called for no houses to be built on it.
The group wrote to the mayor and the council’s cabinet member for housing just weeks before the planning application was approved.
“It is time for the council to reconsider its approach, withdraw the planning application, and use the site for green space and ecological restoration,” they said.
The council wants to build a combination of two and three-storey houses and three-storey flats at the site between Knowle West and Bedminster – photo: Bristol City Council
The council says the homes it will build at Kingswear Road will be “entirely affordable”, made up of a mix of social rent and shared ownership.
The site is also currently occupied by van dwellers, one of two temporary communities of this kind around Knowle West.
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The council’s application for the new homes was decided by one of its own officers rather than a committee of elected councillors.
It is now feared this delegation of powers could be used to determine the outcome of planning applications for other local green spaces.
“It sets a precedent with other parts of the Northern Slopes in the future – and other green space areas,” warned Len Wyatt of the Knowle West Regeneration Residents Planning Group.
The homes the council will build on part of the Northern Slopes will have spectacular views of the city – photo: Charlie Watts
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said a “number of factors” would have led to whether the application for Kingswear Road was decided by officers or a committee, including the wishes of the councillors for Knowle West.
The spokesperson added that the application for the site “makes good use” of previously-developed brownfield land and will “improve” nearby public open space.
They said: “Noting the merits of the scheme and following public consultation in early 2021, which included engaging with local residents, [councillors], and other stakeholders, officers decided to grant permission under their delegated powers.”
Charlie Watts is reporting on Knowle West as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Charlie Watts
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