Frequently asked questions
In January 2023, Vattenfall Heat UK acquired Bristol Heat Networks Ltd from Bristol City Council and is now working with Bristol City Leap in a partnership that will last for the next 20 years. Bristol City Leap is a large-scale initiative aimed at achieving carbon neutrality for the city’s energy infrastructure by 2030.
Bristol City Council began developing heat networks as low carbon infrastructure in response to the need to decarbonise the heat used in the city. Vattenfall will build and expand the heat networks, develop new ones, including in Bedminster, and where possible interconnect them to create a single Bristol Heat Network – serving the local community with reliable, low-carbon heat.
Find out more about the Bedminster Heat Network and more detailed FAQs on the Bristol City Leap website.
The immediate priority is to work with the new developments in Bedminster, and Vattenfall are exploring ways to extend the heat network in surrounding residential areas. Once the initial phase of the Bedminster heat network is built, Vattenfall will be able to focus more on decarbonising existing buildings and hopefully individual homes.
In the meantime, there is a portion of Bristol City Leap’s Community Energy Fund that’s dedicated to support community initiatives that help towards the decarbonisation of Bristol and secure long-term benefits for local residents. The fund was launched at the end of September 2023 and is open for applications now: bristolcityleap.co.uk/community/community-energy-fund/
There is a long-identified need for a community hub in Bedminster to provide services to the local community and a meeting space for residents.
The council has been working with local stakeholders to explore opening a space on East Street on a short-term basis to test out different ideas and develop capacity within local organisations before looking to secure a more permanent community hub.
Provision of community facilities has also been included within the Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework, and conversations will continue with the local community to determine what community facilities are needed to support community cohesion and meet local need.
Bedminster Green developments are required to pay Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). 15% of these funds are allocated to Area Committees to spend on local schemes, and residents can submit a proposal for consideration by Area Committee 5.
For regeneration to be successful and deliver much needed new homes and employment space, it must be financially viable, and height can help support viability. If developments are deemed unviable, they are unlikely to be built.
Bristol City Council’s supplementary planning guidance, Urban Living SPD Urban Living SPD: Making successful places at higher densities (bristol.gov.uk), gives further detail on how higher buildings are to be developed and sensitively integrating into their surroundings. This includes how to make them safe and enjoyable places to live, while reducing negative impacts on the surrounding areas.
The concern that some residents have regarding the height of the buildings is understandable, given that the area is relatively low-rise. However, it tackling our housing crisis is an urgent priority for our city. Average house prices are now nine times higher than average earnings – the highest of all the core cities. Bristol has over 15,000 people on the council’s housing waiting list, and around 1,000 families in temporary accommodation. The city’s population is also set to grow by almost 100,000 people by 2050.
Improving the highways and connectivity into and around the area is a key design feature for both the Whitehouse Street and Bedminster Green regeneration programmes.
Once complete, these areas will facilitate easier journeys through and around the area by all modes of transport.
We are investing significantly in the infrastructure that supports active travel, reducing the number of people who rely on private cars to make daily journeys. This will have a significant impact on reducing congestion in South Bristol.
Bristol City Council works closely with all developments in South Bristol to limit the disruption caused by building works and to create a traffic management plan.
Limiting queues and disruption and wait time on bus routes is a top priority for all partners though some disruption can be unavoidable.
We are thankful to the people of South Bristol for their patience while works take place.
Work on the A38 is on schedule and the road is due to reopen to two-way traffic in late summer 2024.
Works to the Sheene Road junction are complete, and streetlights are now connected to the electricity supply. The works to the junction took place because the previous traffic signals had reached the end of their working life, and only two of the four crossing points were signal controlled for pedestrians. Now all four pedestrian crossing points are signal controlled, which will improve ease of use and safety.
A diversion route via New Charlotte Street is still in place for vehicles to access businesses on Whitehouse Lane without entering the Clean Air Zone.
The current planned developments in South Bristol include a mix of housing types and tenures, including some three and four bed homes, homes for shared ownership, and homes that will be available for an affordable or social rent.
Sixteen homes for social rent and five for shared ownership are already under construction by development partner Dandara at their Stafford Yard development as part of Bedminster Green, and more affordable homes are proposed for the plot 5 development surrounding the existing Bedminster Green (subject to planning).
Bristol City Council is working closely with development partners on the Whitehouse Street regeneration and are looking to secure more affordable and family homes wherever possible.
Around 1,300 students will make up around half of the incoming population of Bedminster Green but a smaller percentage of the wider increase in population growth in BS3.
Bedminster Green is a good location for students to live who will be based in the new University of Bristol campus, which is being developed as part of the Temple Quarter regeneration.
Students will have a positive impact on the local economy of East Street, bringing new daily custom to the businesses and boosting the night-time economy.
Bristol City Council will work with Bedminster BID, University of Bristol, local traders, Avon and Somerset Police, and the Bristol Nights team to help develop a diverse range of businesses on East Street, with longer opening hours.
The impact of this will be a safer East Street with more activity at night and a safer high street environment for everyone.
The Whitehouse Street and Bedminster Green regeneration areas are investing significantly in active travel, making it easy for the students living in the area to travel by bus, bike or on foot and not rely on private cars.
There are nine car parking spaces proposed for the student accommodation sites, the majority of which are for disabled drivers.
Temporary provision will be made for students moving in and out of the accommodation, with time slots allocated to minimise disruption to the wider area.
University of Bristol works on the basis of minimum car ownership within its student body, limiting parking permits, promoting active travel and prioritising blue badge holders.
Bristol City Council is in talks with the NHS Integrated Care Board, who is responsible for healthcare delivery and who are carrying out modelling to better understand what and where the need is.
The council has provided numbers of projected growth and timescales for the BS3 area to help inform the planning not just for GP surgeries but for the wider provision of services that encourage health and wellbeing.
Ensuring that young people in South Bristol have good access to education is a priority for Bristol City Council.
Plans have been approved for new secondary schools on Daventry Rd for 900 students and Silverthorne Lane which will provide 1,600 new school places.
Alongside the existing schools in the area, this should meet the requirements for school places in BS3 as the population grows.
To bridge the gap until the new schools open, a temporary secondary school will be provided on the site between Spring St and St Luke’s Rd, and is scheduled to open January 2024.
There are currently sufficient primary school places in BS3 to meet the predicted demand of the growing population.
Bristol City Council has identified Bedminster Green and neighbouring Whitehouse Street as sites for regeneration in part due to how close they are to the city centre, local amenities and public transport routes, which make them ideal locations for people to live free of car dependency.
As part of the regeneration schemes, the council is investing substantially in active travel. This includes widening pavements, improving cycle routes, and making it easier for buses to travel through and around the area.
The West of England Combined Authority’s MetroWest programme will also see an increase in the number of trains stopping at Bedminster station.
Parking is available at Little Paradise, Hereford Street, Sheene Road and Diamond Street car parks and in various resident parking bays through the area.
Most of this parking will be retained, and the council is in negotiations with development partners to increase parking capacity at Little Paradise.
It is anticipated that car ownership among the incoming population will be far below the current average in the area. This is becaue of how the new homes will be marketed and sold, the wider supporting infrastructure to encourage cycling, walking and public transport, on top ofchanging patterns of travel and car ownership.
In addition, funds have been allocated from a West of England Combined Authority (WECA) grant to explore a Liveable Neighbourhood in BS3 that will make it easier to catch a bus and to walk or cycle, improve infrastructure and reduce through traffic.
Bristol City Council has been working with local community organisations to gain a better understanding of what housing is needed in the area.
We work alongside developers to include a range of housing types and tenures within developments across BS3, including homes for rent, purpose-built student homes, family homes, and homes for social rent.
The Whitehouse Street regeneration includes plans for 2,000 new homes.
The provision of housing, including affordable housing and homes for social rent, remains a priority for the council, and we will seek to work with developers to explore how additional affordable housing can be delivered, such as working in partnership with a registered provider with access to other sources of grant funding such as that available from Homes England for the delivery of affordable housing.
Bristol City Council seeks to mitigate the loss of trees, however, in some cases it is necessary to remove themso construction work can take place along with wider improvements.
In developments where trees need to be removed, the Bristol Tree Replacement Strategy provides guidance on the number of trees that must be replaced to compensate for this loss.
These are provided onsite within the development, or within a one-mile radius of the site.
The 11 trees removed along Malago Road in front of Hereford Street car park in the winter of 2022/23 was to facilitate improvements as part of the highway works.
The trees had to be removed in the winter to comply with bird nesting guidance.
Although highways projects are not required to comply with the Bristol Tree Replacement Strategy , we ringfenced funding and worked with colleagues to identify 33 off-site replacement tree locations in south Bristol.
These trees have been planted in Bishopsworth, Brislington, Hartcliffe and Withywood and Knowle.
These 33 off-site trees will be in addition to the 38 trees that will be planted on-site through the highways project, along with low level shrub planting.