Bristol City Council has announced plans to adopt Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) for one of the city’s largest housing developments.
Hengrove Park will include 1,435 homes, of which 30% will be affordable, a large public park as well as commercial, retail, education, and community facilities.
The development hopes to support the Mayor of Bristol’s promise to deliver 1,000 new affordable homes a year across the city by 2024.
Earlier this year, a procurement process was initiated to find a development partner for the Hengrove Park scheme, but the council has now announced this process has been terminated.
The council said this decision has been taken in order to pursue an approach that is “more likely to meet the council’s strategic priorities for housing in the city”.
“The changed approach will enable Hengrove Park to become an exemplar new, high-quality, and sustainable neighbourhood and public park,” the statement continued.
“This will include delivering new homes at pace to high environmental standards with the use of innovative methods of housing delivery, including Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), to deliver the new and affordable homes Bristol needs.”
The council said the decision to look again at the best way to deliver the housing scheme will boost housing delivery across Bristol by exploring innovative approaches to deliver new homes more sustainably and quickly.
Cabinet will announce the new delivery plans in early 2022.
Speaking on behalf of the cabinet, Tom Renhard, cabinet member for housing delivery and homes, said: “Hengrove Park is a major opportunity for Bristol to deliver the new homes we need in a way that sets an example of how high-quality, low carbon and affordable homes can be delivered at pace.
“We have decided to end the current procurement process because we believe there is a better way to meet our objectives for affordable housing in the city.
“By looking again at how we approach the scheme we can ensure that we maximise the highest number of affordable homes for those in need, as well as providing the community facilities and infrastructure that will support an inclusive community in the future.”
Image credit: brizmaker/Shutterstock
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