Finding new and innovative ways to build housing is a key part of our plans to meet ambitious targets for much needed affordable homes across the city. One way to do this is to work with local communities to enable them to build the homes that best reflect the needs of the neighbourhood.

A key example of this approach can be found in Southmead, where we are supporting an ambitious regeneration and housing delivery programme.

The community-led Southmead Masterplan was published in 2018 by the Southmead Development Trust (SDT). It is a community-led development project where the stakeholders and wider community meet on regular basis to review development progress and contribute to decision making.

The plan aims to deliver around 230 new homes in central Southmead, with a mix of new affordable and market housing options, including a development of community-led housing at Glencoyne Square. These new homes will add to the 474 affordable homes we built in 2021/22 and the 1,300 new affordable homes currently being built across the city. Goram Homes, our council-owned housing company, has a pipeline of more than 3,100 new homes – half of them affordable – alongside the around 11,000 homes our administration has helped get built in Bristol since 2016.

Planning permission for 120 new homes was granted in 2021, but the scheme has since been re-designed to improve viability. The new scheme, which is currently going back through planning, is expected to provide up to 187 homes – of which around 66% will be affordable – alongside a new shared library, advice and learning hub, community enterprise space and a health and well-being hub. It is hoped work will start on site next year, subject to planning approval.

Unfortunately, the re-location of Southmead Health Centre has not been possible due to unavailability of sufficient match funding from the NHS. Instead, the proposed health centre area within the new scheme will be replaced with a smaller health and well-being hub, allowing SDT to provide additional new homes, with the current health centre expected to remain on its current site rather than move across.

Implementation of the plan is being undertaken over several phases, and we have already delivered a range of improvements to the Arnside Road district centre and shopping area. Public realm and sustainable urban drainage improvements to Arnside have been completed and opened to the public in May 2022, making the high street a more attractive, safer and eco-friendly place to visit. We have also purchased the White Hall site, which will be used for new council owned homes, while still retaining play facilities on the adjourning park site.

As with any big project of this size, there have been some challenges along the way. We were very disappointed when ALDI made the decision to not expand their anchor store. We had already done a great deal of work, alongside Southmead Development Trust, to relocate services that took place in the youth centre to a newly refurbished space at the Ranch – Southmead Adventure Playground.

Southmead Library has also been moved – taking up a temporary space at Southmead House before a new purpose-built home is created for it as part of future development in the area. We are keen to make sure that the library and youth centre buildings do not stand empty, and they are currently being used to provide day care services and sports classes. In the longer term, we are considering if they could be suitable for additional homes.

In 2019 we received £3.6 million of Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) funding from Homes England to support the delivery of the masterplan, and we have already committed £7 million to help fund the non-residential space at Glencoyne Square. Cabinet will consider a further £620,000 investment to support the scheme, following ALDI’s decision not to expand its store, and to cover other rising costs.

Bristol is a rapidly growing city and is currently undergoing much transformation. Our regeneration programmes stretch from Bedminster to Temple Meads, St Judes’s to Broadmead, and also include Western Harbour, Hengrove, Filwood and Lockleaze. We need to keep working together to make sure that Bristol grows well, with local communities benefiting from the change happening on their doorstep. Regeneration will bring city-wide benefits so that everyone can thrive. 

We have a vision to create vibrant communities with sustainable, inclusive economic growth. Quality affordable homes and job opportunities will be in locations where we can have reliable, frequent public transport connections and be within walking and cycling routes.

The transformation of Southmead, including the provision of new homes, an improved town centre, and a healthy and inclusive local community will contribute to city-wide targets for housing and for developing economic and social opportunity and environmental sustainability.

The government’s Renters (Reform) Bill has finally been unveiled and, while the overdue plans to ban no fault evictions are welcome, I cannot help but feel that the proposals do not go far enough to tackle the mounting housing crisis being faced in Bristol and across the country. More needs to be done to provide protection for renters and tackle a market that has spiralled out of control.

Bristol’s private rented sector is becoming increasingly unaffordable, leading to serious access and affordability issues which are impacting the wellbeing and quality of life of people in Bristol and playing a major role in creating homelessness. Those in private rented accommodation have lived for too long without adequate protections and with very limited options to guarantee decent living standards.

Some proposals set out in the bill will have positive impacts on renters in Bristol and will also ensure clarity for landlords should they come into effect. Our campaign for a fair rental sector has always acknowledged that most landlords provide decent homes and aim to support their tenants. Solutions to this crisis need to be formed by working together across the sector and we’ve committed to with all parties to take positive action.

While I am pleased to see a basic decent homes standard planned, along with a new ombudsman to oversee the private rented sector, applying home quality standards to the private sector for the first time, the bill does little to address the affordability of renting. It will not provide for the powers for areas like Bristol to intervene in the private rented sector to tackle this issue – which could mean property owners will still find ways to skirt the laws by using large rent hikes to force unwanted tenants out who can’t afford them, even if rent increases are limited to once a year with a minimum two month notice period. Out of control rents mean housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, pushing many further away from their place of work, family, and support networks.

Plans to make it illegal to refuse tenancies to people on benefits or with children are vitally important and will make sure no family is unjustly discriminated against when looking for a place to live. Banning discrimination against renters on benefits is something we have long campaigned for, making it council policy last year.

I also welcome the introduction of a property portal to act as a database for properties in the private rented sector. I will be looking at the detail of this to ensure what is brought in can be used to its full potential and equip tenants with the information they need about the property they are renting.

A right to request a pet is also a welcome step forward. As a dog owner myself, I know the important role pets can play in our lives. However, we need to ensure that a landlord not being able to unreasonably withhold consent is sufficiently clarified in law.

Here in Bristol, we have been campaigning for renters reform and increased security for tenants for some time, and must continue to put pressure on the government to deliver on their promises. Having a safe and secure roof over our heads is key to ensuring we all have the best possible opportunity to live a happy and healthy life but, unfortunately, many renters still live in fear of spiralling costs and unfair evictions. 

We have over 19,000 households on our waiting list for social housing, along with over 1,200 households in temporary accommodation. The cost of renting in this city is one key cause alongside the lack of security that renters have in the private rented sector.

In the Mayor’s 2021 manifesto, we pledged to make Bristol a “living rent city” and lobby central government for the powers to introduce rent controls that work for the city. Since this we’ve worked across the sector to better support private renters, including the roll out of landlord licensing schemes, stamping out illegal ‘no DSS’ discrimination and hosting the first the Renters’ Summit to share their experiences of renting in Bristol.

We also launched the Living Rent Commission, bringing the best, partnership focused organisations together to explore the issues facing renters. As part of its work looking to improve the affordability, quality and tenant experience of the private rented sector in Bristol, the One City Living Rent Commission has looked at how we can improve the sector, including what the impact of rent regulation across the city could be.

An upcoming report, written by the University of Bristol, will be officially launched in the coming weeks, sets out a range of recommendations based on evidence of the challenges we face and potential solutions we could introduce. We have made sure that a wide range of people have been heard during the process, including listening to the lived experience of tenants, residents and landlords.

There are no simple solutions to a crisis of this scale and we know that part of it is about building more homes that are truly affordable. However, the commission has given us an opportunity to bring organisations together to explore the issues facing renters and the sector, to help us develop an approach that works for Bristol and better protects renters.

The report’s recommendations reflect that the powers to regulate the market come from government. Therefore, we must work with Westminster to develop any future policy. The recommendations also highlight the need to continue the constructive dialogue with renters and other stakeholders in the private rented sector to achieve our goal of delivering meaningful and lasting positive change, enabling Bristol to become a Living Rent City.

We recognise that there is substantial support for rent control to help make renting in the city more affordable, however, there are also concerns about negative impacts. Further work will now take place to develop the proposals put forward in the report. This will happen in partnership with sector stakeholders and ensure that tenants’ views continue to be taken into account.

Bristol’s advice services are playing a pivotal role in our city’s response to the national cost of living crisis. Providing people with advice on welfare benefits, housing, employment, money, and immigration is just the start and they’ve, understandably, seen a significant increase in the number of residents they’ve been helping, and will continue to help.

The sector has an enormous impact in our city. In 2021/22, the Bristol Advice Partnership (BAP) gave help to over 8,000 residents. They secured additional benefits payments for citizens amounting to nearly £9 million, helped people manage debt worth over £12.5 million, negotiated manageable payment arrangements for over £900,000 of council tax that would otherwise have gone unpaid, and gave out over 3,000 foodbank vouchers.

Since April 2019 we have provided an annual grant to the BAP, which is made up of seven advice providers in our city, enabling them to provide vital support to those who need it. Our Cabinet has just extended the grant for two more years, until 31 March 2026, worth £1.12 million.

The extension comes at a time of increased demand and will give stability to the sector, allowing agencies to focus their resources on addressing the immediate national cost of living crisis rather than being concerned about future funding or new grant processes.

We’ve assessed the impact the national cost of living crisis is having on Bristol and found that one in four households across Bristol will have been spending around 20% of their budgets, after housing, on energy bills in 2022/23. These households are also home to one third of all children in Bristol. The sector continues to report an increase in demand on services for welfare and benefit support, while the West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL) has reported an increase in people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) to meet their living costs.

During Debt Awareness Week a few weeks ago, we heard from Citizens Advice Bristol about the increasing number of people they have been helping with crisis support – currently more than two people every minute.

Our city’s advice agencies have worked tirelessly over the past few months, as have so many other local organisations providing support, but clearly, while we are now in spring, people still need the support of advice agencies. This crisis is not going anywhere. Once again, we have to look to national government for the lack of funding that has been provided to support our most vulnerable communities.

Since last summer, we have been taking a One City approach in our response to the national cost of living crisis, successfully bringing together key organisations and partners and recruiting volunteers to help reduce cost of living pressures in our communities. As key partners in the response, and as part of the advice grant, we’d like to see the advice agencies taking the same approach with the production of a development plan for a ‘one front door’ approach to advice provision in our city.

Giving the advice sector the resources they need to support people will help us see benefits in the long term for Bristol and its residents as well. It means they can continue helping some of our city’s poorest and most excluded individuals and families to maintain their finances and maximise their income, in turn reducing financial, food and fuel poverty.

For a full list of local organisations in Bristol available to provide support on a range of topics, from benefits and financial advice to mental health and emotional wellbeing support, visit the council’s cost of living support webpage or call 0800 694 0184 for free between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Last night I had the honour of attending the Grand Iftar on College Green, with 1,000 people from across Bristol’s Muslim communities and the wider city.

The brilliant event was organised by Muslims 4 Bristol in partnership with Bridges for Communities, with support from Black 2 Nature, Bristol Cathedral, Bristol City Council, Bristol Waste, Feeding Bristol, Redwood Events, the West of England Combined Authority, and other partners.

There are currently over 19,000 households on the council’s housing register. Sadly, the number of residents that require support with council housing massively outweighs the number of properties available – even as we continue to build record numbers of new homes to tackle the housing crisis. With such high demand, many residents who have a low priority housing need are unlikely to find a new home.

Our view is simple: everyone in Bristol should have access to a secure, safe, and warm home. Unaffordable rent prices in the private sector, soaring property values, stagnant wages, and an insufficient number of affordable homes are many reasons why we believe that what this city needs is more council housing, and also a better way of allocating that stock.

We’re ploughing ahead with the first bit – building the first new council homes seen in Bristol in a generation. Since 2016 we have delivered nearly 240 new council homes to add to the housing register. As we move further into our plans for delivering new homes, we expect to see a further 1,715 new council homes over the next five years.

As we press ahead with increasing the number of properties available, we have also been looking at how me manage the housing register to resolve some issues with how council housing is allocated. This review is now complete, and I am pleased to have been able to approve its recommendations at our most recent Cabinet meeting.

The main aim of the review was to ensure that the allocations system focused on housing those households in greatest need, improve the online HomeChoice Bristol system, and be clearer about the expectations households should have on receiving a council house.

Many months of research and speaking to people from across the housing sector, including running resident working groups and speaking to people currently on the waiting list, helped shape this new policy. This included speaking and listening to many groups who represent people who have experienced domestic violence and harassment, older people, young people, people leaving care facilities, people living with disabilities and others.

With that wealth of feedback and opinion, we’ve been able to make some changes to three areas of the policy – how we allocate housing, how we prioritise the circumstances of households, and balancing the problems we have with supply and demand.

The main change to the policy is that we will move to being more proactive in helping households find a home and ensure that at least half of all offers are made direct. This will ensure that those in most need are prioritised. We also propose to extend the use of local letting policies which will ensure that, where possible, people are supported into accommodation within a locality that they have a connection to ensure as little disruption as possible – be it to school, work, or other local commitments.

We’re also recognising the challenging circumstances children in care often find when leaving care and ensuring they are treated as a priority when allocating council homes. Likewise, we are also looking to up the support available to those who currently live in homes too big for their needs to move into more suitable accommodation.

This is just the first phase of our plans to improve the system for those on the housing register. Over the next 12 to 18 months we will begin introducing a new set of IT systems that will offer new possibilities for how people access the register and manage their housing applications. More on that to come soon.