Former Bristol railway sidings to become new housing scheme with nearly 100 affordable homes
- More than 200 new homes being built on disused railway at Ashton Gate train station, 98 of which will be affordable housing
- Latimer, part of the Clarion Housing Group, is partnering with regeneration specialists Vistry on the £17.1m development
- Construction will begin in April this year with completion expected in spring 2025.
A strip of disused railway at Bristol’s former Ashton Gate train station is to be transformed into a new housing development of more than 200 homes west of the city centre.
Latimer, part of the Clarion Housing Group, is partnering with regeneration specialists Vistry to redevelop the land and build a total of 220 high quality new homes – 98 of which will be affordable.
Vistry, which secured planning permission for the brownfield site in 2021, is working with Clarion – the UK’s largest housing association – to deliver vital new affordable housing as part of the wider City Gateway regeneration project in Bristol.
The £17.1m contract, the first partnership between Clarion and Vistry’s Bristol-based west division, will provide 62 homes for social rent and 36 for shared ownership sale. Vistry will also deliver 122 units to be sold privately.
The scheme’s affordable housing provision – 44% of all the new homes built – is significantly greater than the local planning policy requirement of 30%, with not-for-profit provider Clarion boosting the number of affordable housing options through a combination of its own subsidy and grant funding.
Transforming a brownfield site into a new community
Richard Cook, Group Director of Development at the Clarion Housing Group, said:
“We are delighted to be working with Vistry to breathe new life into this brownfield site and deliver vital affordable homes on the edge of Bristol.
“We are committed to providing the right homes in the right places, and this partnership will give local people an increased number of affordable housing options in a city fast becoming out of reach for too many.”
Marc Thompson, Managing Director of Vistry Partnerships West, said:
“We’re very pleased that by working with Clarion, Bristol City Council and Homes England we have been able to increase the number of affordable homes we’re providing at City Gateway.
“We’re turning this former industrial, brownfield site into a high-quality new place to live, with a significant number of affordable homes for Bristolians. Once complete, it will play an important role in the wider Western Harbour regeneration area.”
Construction work on the one and two-bedroom apartments at the scheme will begin in April this year with completion expected in spring 2025.