Thousands of homes to be built to tackle Bristol's ‘rapidly growing population’

The East Street development is a small part of the council's regeneration project Credit: Bristol City Council

Plans have been unveiled to build thousands of new homes in Bristol as part of a ‘major regeneration project’.

Bristol City Council is consulting the public on a master plan to regenerate the area around Whitehouse Street in Bedminster, as part of its bid to cater for the city’s ‘rapidly growing population’.

It has proposed for 2,000 Homes to be built on a brownfield site on the north-east edge of Bedminster, close to the city centre and Temple Meads Station.

The site is currently home to several businesses, but the plans would transform it into a residential area.

The council has said that regenerating Bedminster could take up to 15 years, with the first phase of the development taking between two and five years.

How the regeneration project around Whitehouse Street would look Credit: Bristol City Council

It is thought that the thousands of new residents could help revive the nearby shopping centre on East Street. 15,000 square metres of employment space would also be created for 400 jobs.

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said: “The long-term ambition is to create a neighbourhood with high-quality new homes to accommodate Bristol’s growing population, that delivers inclusive economic growth and supports community development.

"We hope to bring new residents to the area to strengthen the important economic and social function of Bedminster’s historic high street, East Street.

“By building on previously developed sites, creating new walking and cycling routes, and connecting homes and businesses to the district heat network, the Whitehouse Street scheme will also help our city reach its goal for further reducing carbon emissions.”

The draft project has had input from community members, local landowners and action groups.

Ellie Freeman, chair of Action Greater Bedminster, said: “It’s good to see the final consultation coming forward after all the work the team has put in.

"I hope the community can see how their input has fed into the framework. Action Greater Bedminster has worked hard to make the most of the opportunities we’ve had over the last 18 months to bring people’s views into the plans.

"It’s important residents now feed into this final part of the process.”

The consultation runs until 8 January 2023, more details on the project can be found on the White House Street regeneration site.