At our Cabinet meeting last week, we approved the business plan and list of sites for development by the council’s housing company, Goram Homes. 

This is an important milestone for the company and marks the beginning of an exciting period of growth and delivery for Bristol. Working closely with the council, Goram Homes will now begin to form partnerships with private developers to deliver new homes and place of great quality that will create new communities across Bristol. 

The pipeline – set out in two phases and spanning ten years – will allow them to start talking to local residents and share their plans for the future. They can now begin their work to really understand what our local communities need and to build those needs into their proposals. 

In their Business Plan, Goram Homes outline the values and approach that will drive all of their work. Whilst their business model ensures that Goram Homes is a strong financial investment for Bristol, what sets them apart is their commitment to building homes that respect their occupants, existing communities and the environment. 

As part their journey towards achieving B Corp status, Goram Homes has set a target of seventy-five percent of their construction spend – around £250 million across all of their sites – going to local businesses. This type of investment in Bristol’s economy – post-Covid – will be crucial to our city’s recovery. 

One of their first projects will be the new energy centre at Castle Park. Water pump technology is one of the greenest sources of heat available. I am proud that Bristol will soon be home to one of the largest heat water pumps in the UK to use harbour water as an energy source. This is just one more example of how Bristol is leading the way in innovation and finding sustainable solutions to secure a cleaner, greener future for our city. 

Crucially, through Goram Homes, we are also able to deliver affordable homes in the numbers that Bristol needs. In some places, well above what is required by local planning policy. Their business plan lays out ambitious targets for more than a third of their properties to be affordable.  These homes will be built to the same space standards as their market value homes and enjoy the benefits of quality design and, wherever possible, offer new green spaces and ecological features. 

Goram Homes new pipeline of sites spans the whole of Bristol and includes the iconic A and B Bond Warehouses.  With their recent success at Bristol Property Awards recognising their sustainability credentials and innovative financing deal, they are off to a good start and I am excited to see what happens next.

You can find a map of Goram Homes’s developments here.