Stockwood residents rally against social housing plans on former care home site

Residents have rallied against plans to build social housing in Stockwood on the site of a former care home.

Bristol City Council is planning to build 26 new homes in a social housing scheme off Lacey Road, where the Greville care home used to stand before getting knocked down in 2020.

The council said there is high demand for social housing in this part of Bristol. But many neighbours have objected to the planning application, as some claim nearby social housing might lower the value of their houses.

Other concerns include further pressure on already stretched public services, and road safety near the care home site.

Councillors on the development control committee are due to decide on whether to grant permission for the controversial social housing scheme, at a meeting on Wednesday June 29.

The scheme would see a mix of bungalows, two-storey houses and two-storey blocks of flats, with 36 car parking spaces. Several neighbours wrote to the council with concerns.

One neighbour said: “As a local homeowner bordering the former home, I strongly object to a 100 per cent social housing proposal on this site.

“I appreciate the need for social housing within Bristol, but people have purchased homes in this location on the basis that they’re located among other privately owned properties.

“Stockwood already struggles to adequately serve the local residents, having over-subscribed services such as the doctors, schools and dentists, along with terrible road access to the estate and an even worse bus service.

“The proposal of these many new homes, with no additional funding into local services, will only make this noticeably worse.”

Another neighbour said: “Astounded the properties are 100% social housing.

“We bought our property based on the high number of private properties it sat among, knowing by pure fact that this would lower crime rates.

“This will depreciate the value of our housing, possibly sending some into negative equity if they bought their property in the last few years.

“Lacey Road is already busy and unsafe for children to cross, with people driving too fast on a rat run.

“There was an incident last month where a car mounted the pavement near the Greville entrance, and was a near miss to a serious injury to a pedestrian.

“Lacey Road would not cope with the additional traffic turning in and out of the estate.”

Many of the homes included in the scheme would have one or two bedrooms, to fill a gap in the demand for smaller social housing units, according to the council.

The Lacey Road scheme would allow the council to move current tenants living in accommodation larger than they need into smaller homes, freeing up the larger accommodation for families.

Planning documents said: “There are thousands of citizens in Bristol on the council’s housing list waiting for a council property.

“There are areas of the city where there may appear to be a concentration of social housing, however this is also where the council owns the land, so inevitably we will be developing those sites to supply more homes for people.

“The proposed development will also enable the council to free up stock which is currently under-occupied by council tenants, and allow them to move into smaller accommodation which meets their current needs.

“This frees up larger accommodation which can be offered to families who are over-occupying council properties, because the council cannot meet their needs with the current stock type.”