News / KNowle West
Council drops controversial housing plans for health park
Bristol City Council has announced that it is scrapping its housing plans for a green space in south Bristol.
The council’s house-building company, Goram Homes, had earmarked part of Knowle West Health Park for around 50 new dwellings in March 2021.
It then looked at other parts of the Health Park it could develop after local people launched a campaign to stop it being built on.
is needed now More than ever
But the council has now said that, in response to residents’ concerns, it is no longer pursuing housing on the site.
Bristol City Council has dropped plans to build homes on Knowle West Health Park in south Bristol – photo: Charlie Watts
The Health Park on Downton Road is made up of community buildings and green space, and includes a playground, multi-use games area and an outdoor gym.
Heather Williams, CEO of Knowle West Health Park Co, which runs the site, said it is “great news” that houses are not going to be built on it.
She wrote on Facebook: “Well done the residents who put their hearts and souls into fighting this in the midst of a pandemic. Never forget that the community can be the difference!”
The council had considered developing different parts of the Health Park – photo: Google
Bristol South MP Karin Smyth had also been a vocal critic of the housing plans for the Health Park.
She previously told Bristol24/7: “It is a special place despite recent lack of investment and must be protected.
“To lose what this space offers the community in terms of health related activities for all ages and the resulting intergenerational connection would be a tragedy.”
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said protecting green spaces will mean building more densely on brownfield sites – photo: BBC
The update about the Health Park comes on the same day that the council has said it is scaling back its housing plans for the Western Slopes, another green space in Knowle West.
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said that protecting these spaces will mean building more densely on brownfield sites.
He commented: “Cities are complicated with competing demands and where we locate new homes and how they are built is a nuanced debate.
“We now need to find other, more suitable sites for these desperately needed new homes, and to make sure we meet the current and future needs of Bristol’s citizens as we do.”
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
Read more: Council to build 1,400 homes including hundreds of council houses on park
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