Goram Homes and Vistry sign deal to deliver Hengrove Park
Goram Homes and Vistry have signed a major agreement to deliver the landmark Hengrove Park development in South Bristol.
The deal will see a new neighbourhood of 1,435 homes built on the former Whitchurch Airport airfield, with around half of the homes set to be affordable.
The scheme is one of the largest residential-led regeneration projects planned in Bristol for generations and represents a major milestone in the long-running regeneration of South Bristol.
Led by Goram Homes, Bristol City Council’s housing company, the development will create a mixed-tenure neighbourhood with new community, commercial and leisure facilities. Plans include a community building, sports pavilion, shops, business space and an on-site energy centre providing shared low-carbon heating and power across the site.
At the centre of the masterplan will be a new 22.2-hectare public park, roughly the size of 30 football pitches. The green space has been designed to enhance the area’s existing open and recreational spaces and will include investment in sports infrastructure, playing pitches and community facilities.
The development will also include new transport connections to Hengrove Way, Bamfield, Hengrove Promenade and The Boulevard, as well as new footways and cycleways to improve walking and cycling routes through the area.
Alongside the long-term partnership to deliver the wider multi-phase masterplan, Goram Homes and Vistry have formed a joint venture to deliver the first phase of Hengrove Park.
Phase One will provide the first 209 approved homes, including 104 for social rent and shared ownership. Subject to further detailed planning consent, this phase is expected to grow to more than 350 homes, with around half designated as affordable housing.
The first phase will also deliver a substantial part of the new public park, including playing pitches, a sports pavilion and a scout hut. It will also include the development’s energy centre, new transport connections and improved walking and cycling routes.
Stephen Baker, managing director of Goram Homes, said the agreement would help make the long-planned development a reality.
He said:
This partnership with Vistry is the result of years’ work and ensures Hengrove Park becomes a reality, delivering a phased regeneration development that will be transformational for South Bristol.
Hengrove Park will be a mixed-tenure neighbourhood which ultimately creates over 1,430 new homes over the next decade, of which around 50% will be affordable housing, helping to meet the city’s urgent, and growing need, for more homes.
“Hengrove Park’s character will be defined by its high-quality park and green spaces that support health, wellbeing and community life, helping to create a sense of place.
The wider Hengrove Park masterplan is being led by Goram Homes in partnership with Bristol City Council, with support from the West of England Combined Authority and Homes England to help fund enabling infrastructure works.
The first residential development in the wider Hengrove Park area is also due to be completed this year. Dundry View, developed by Goram Homes and commissioned by Bristol City Council, will deliver 53 new homes, all of which will be affordable. The scheme includes 27 apartments for social rent and 26 for shared ownership and is being built by The Hill Group.
The Hengrove Park masterplan forms part of a wider South Bristol regeneration programme that has been running for more than 20 years. Previous work led by Bristol City Council through the Hengrove Park Regeneration project, also known as Hartcliffe Campus, delivered South Bristol Community Hospital, Hengrove Park Leisure Centre, and the South Bristol Skills Academy, part of City of Bristol College, all of which were completed in 2012.
The deal with Vistry means Goram Homes is now contracted to build more than 2,000 homes across five sites in Bristol, with around half expected to be affordable housing.
