Residents are one step closer to moving into Castle Park View, the tallest residential block in Bristol, with the completion of the benchmark affordable home.
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, visited the 26-storey tower yesterday (2 September) to hear more about the building work and tour the building which will soon bring 375 much-needed new homes to the city centre, including 75 affordable homes.
Construction of Castle Park View will be finished in Spring 2022, and the first tenants will move in soon after. Of the 75 affordable homes, 58 will be for rent and 17 will be shared ownership. Rents will be at Local Housing Allowance rates inclusive of service charges, making them affordable for a wider range of residents.
The new homes will host a range of sustainable features as part of the council’s plans to build new homes sustainably in central locations.
The new homes are heated by the nearby Castle Park Energy Centre, the largest water source heat pump in the country. The new water source heat pump takes water from the nearby floating harbour, extracts the heat and uses it to provide low-carbon heat and hot water for local businesses and residents. Once complete, a mixed-use development will be built over the energy centre by Goram Homes, on the site of the old Castle Park Parks depot.
Castle Park View’s design includes numerous sustainability features which contributed to it achieving a level four standard in the Code for Sustainable Homes certification, an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes. The sustainable design features include nearly 200 photovoltaic roof-mounted solar panels, more than 500 cycle parking spaces, energy efficient light fittings and kitchen appliances, electric charging points at 20% of the car parking spaces, as well as diverting 99.9% of waste generated during the build from landfill.
By making efficient use of a brownfield site near the city centre, Castle Park View will also support sustainable living in Bristol. The site is within walking distance of Bristol Temple Meads station and Bristol Bus and Coach Station, as well as on walking and cycling routes across the city, reducing car traffic within the city centre.
As well as Bristol City Council, other key partners in the scheme are Homes England, M&G Real Estate and Abri.
The project has also benefitted the local area through various charitable and community initiatives by building contractor Bouygues UK. This includes an estimated £40 million of social value to the local economy by using a local supply chain and sub-contractors, securing employment for 55 people on site, raising more than £7,000 for local charities, donating laptops to nearby schools and staff undertaking volunteer work and providing more than 300 career support sessions through local schools and colleges, as well as Job Centre Plus.
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “It’s great to see these homes nearing completion. This is a great example of building the homes we desperately need without putting undue pressure on the environment by making the most of brownfield sites in the city centre, as well as bringing value to the community throughout the build. Recommendations from the recent Citizens’ Assembly included the need to rapidly reduce the impact of our homes on climate change and to make changes to neighbourhoods that make traveling easier, healthier, and better for the environment. Castle Park View supports these ambitions by bringing high quality new homes to Bristol in a sustainable location, with direct access to walking and cycling links and heated by our low-carbon heat network.”
Stephen Lodge, Executive Director Development and Strategic Asset Management at Abri, said: “It’s great to be collaborating on such a landmark development to deliver affordable homes in the city centre tackling affordability challenges. Abri is really embracing the importance of stemming climate change and working with our partners we’re collectively providing more homes to help with the housing crisis and the sustainable features will have a lasting impact, helping to create communities that thrive long term.”
Axel Boutrolle, Managing Director of Linkcity, said: “Linkcity is very proud to be delivering this much needed building for the people of Bristol. Doing so in such a collaborative way on public land has been a challenging but very rewarding and worthwhile experience. The sustainability credentials of this building are second to none, and we have created environmentally friendly, energy efficient and more importantly affordable homes for hundreds of families in this city, a cause which is very close to our hearts. We hope Castle Park View will be the first of many developments in the UK that uses inner city brown field sites to build much needed housing for thriving cities such as Bristol. “
John Boughton, Regional Managing Director of Bouygues UK, said: “As a Bristol boy, born and bred, it is amazing to see this building near completion on this former industrial site. Working so closely with such a wide range of partners has been really rewarding for the whole Bouygues UK team and one which we hope to replicate on other projects.
“I would particularly like to thank our project team on site here are Caste Park View, who have worked tirelessly and diligently through the pandemic to deliver this building. It hasn’t been easy for them but they have pulled together to get to this stage in the build – which is great to see.”
Kelly Hillman, Head of Acquisitions at Homes England, said: “Castle Park View is a great example of using public sector land for much needed housing, including affordable homes. Partners have worked together to deliver this brownfield site which was not without it challenges.”
Alex Greaves, Head of UK and Euro Living at M&G, says: “We are delighted to have worked with Linkcity, Bouygues - and the local authority – to provide the funding for a sustainable, landmark building. Bristol is a cosmopolitan city with good employment, whose fundamentals are even stronger post pandemic. The constrained pipeline and considerable demand for high quality residential accommodation aligns with our fund’s objective which focuses on high quality, well-located sites near transportation and employment with strong potential for rental growth.”