Bristol Question Time: ‘We’ve still got so much to achieve’

Bristol may not be “too big for its boots” just yet but that is because it still has a lot to achieve. This includes creating more affordable housing, improving its digital and transport connectivity, as well as working on environmental aspects such as cleaner air, according to the panel at EG’s Bristol Question Time event. This will partly be tackled by a joint spatial plan from the West of England Combined Authority that is being created to provide the development framework to guide the delivery of housing, employment and infrastructure up to 2036 across Bristol, Bath and Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The panel David Carter, director of infrastructure, West of England Combined Authority Julian Harbottle, head of western region, Savills Ross Polkinghorne, partner, Burges Salmon Jason Schofield, development director, Generator South West Julie Snell, chief executive, Bristol is Open Chair: Samantha McClary, editor, EG David Carter, director of infrastructure at the West of England Combined Authority, says: “Some might think that both ourselves and the local authorities are part of the problem, but once the joint spatial plan gets through the enquiry process, that will give us something to then look at how to deliver against it. “The difference I hope that we will make and the authorities will make is that we want to proactively work on the masterplanning of the strategic development sites so that we can de-risk it so that the private sector can do their job.” He adds: “I think the development industry and housebuilders are unfairly accused of things, but many of them have been taken on by the industry while, to a certain extent, the public sector has been abdicating its responsibility to deliver. “The proof of the pudding will be in two or three years’ time when we get through that process.” Housing pressures Carter points out that around 4,000 people are moving into the area every year, many of whom are solvent and well-educated, which is pushing house prices up and up. The question now for Bristol is whether this pressure on housing will lead to the area’s surrounding greenbelt being built on. Julian Harbottle, head of Western region at Savills says: “[It’s] almost inevitable the greenbelt is going to have to give for the JSP target in the local area. “Nobody likes development. We’re a nation of nimbys, we know that,” he adds, admitting bias as Savills is working on a scheme that could see some of Bristol’s greenbelt land built on. “If we’re going to deliver the houses, we’re going to have to.” However, flagging that attempt to build on the greenbelt will not be without its challenges. Bristol is Open managing director Julie Snell says:  “I don’t think I’ve come across anywhere where people are so passionate about green space and its preservation.” For Jason Schofield, development director at Generator South West, there are still brownfield opportunities and there is still the opportunity to build upwards to help elevate the pressure, but he says this has restrictions as well. Meanwhile, Carter admits that while he wouldn’t want to live anywhere that excluded people, he understands that developers have to make the numbers add up, which affects the ability to deliver affordable housing. “It’s the nature of the market,” he says. He does, however, want the combined authority to help take out some of the costs that developers face, such as delivering infrastructure as a whole to remove some of the burden from sites, but even then he says he is “not sure you can fulfil everyone’s ambitions for affordable housing but we can do something”. Clean air needs clean transport With the pressure of more people coming to set up home in Bristol, there are also others challenges besides housing affordability to consider, including the need to improve transport to enable people to move around which, in turn, could create a cleaner environment for people to live in. Ross Polkinghome, partner at Burges Salmon, points out that Bristol is starting to lag behind other cities in rising to these challenges and that as well as having a huge impact on the environment, it could affect the city’s ability to attract investment. Occupiers such as Burges Salmon have a role to play in this by recognising the needs of their employees and Polkinghome admits the firm had underestimated its cycling and locker provision needed for its 800-strong staff at its 200,000 sq ft office in the city. And Harbottle says these changes need to be led by the council as it is the majority (50%) landowner. Schofield adds that the industry has taken this on board and says Generator South West is looking at schemes with no car parking provision but says decent transport needs to be provided to get people out of their cars. However, to get people out of their cars “requires some bravery” from politicians, adds Carter. “All of this is perfectly possible, it’s just whether politics and public sentiment align to deliver it. “The intent would be [in terms of masterplan] to be extremely low-carbon.” “However, as we all know, the masterplan that the public sector might put forward has to survive first contact with financial reality when it comes the development market, because unless the public sector owns all the land, it cannot dictate what happens,” he argues. Meanwhile, Snell admits that while she has recently acquired a bike, despite being a self-confessed “petrolhead,” her son has bought a monster truck. “Trying to get him to understand the damage he is doing is pretty hard,” she says. “Perhaps there’s still a generation shift needed and that we’ve got to acknowledge that we have to change.” [gallery type="slideshow" ids="981486,981487,981488,981489,981490,981491,981492,981493,981494,981495"] To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette