Bath Road, Bristol

The Bath Road site is allocated for residential development within the adopted Local Plan. The Plan references that it is a previously developed (brownfield) site in a sustainable location and within a largely residential context, and therefore suitable for housing.

Sovereign Housing Association acquired the John Peer building in 2016. A planning application for 146 homes was submitted in September 2018, following extensive stakeholder and public consultation. The application was refused in 2021 and a subsequent planning appeal was dismissed in November 2022.

In October 2023, Sovereign Housing Association and Network Homes came together as SNG (Sovereign Network Group), with the aim of providing good, affordable homes: the foundation for a better life. Its vision is for thriving communities, over generations.

Around the same time, SNG bought the Go Outdoors retail store, adjacent to the John Peer building, as well as the nearby former railway path on Tramway Road, Brislington. This acquisition represents a strategic long-term investment for SNG, building on its existing land ownership in the local area and across the city. SNG has no immediate plans to redevelop the site and Go Outdoors will continue to operate as it does now.

In March 2024, SNG submitted an application to Bristol City Council to demolish the existing building in accordance with permitted development rights which was approved. Demolition of the building and site enabling works will take place during October/November 2024.

SNG has carefully considered the strategy for the Bath Road site and is now bringing forward proposals for a policy-compliant residential scheme that addresses the concerns raised by Bristol City Council in the refused 2018 application.

The proposals aim to deliver:

• A high-quality design that seeks to positively respond to the character of the site and its surrounding context;
• 91 high-quality residential dwellings (Use Class C3);
• 100% affordable housing with a mix of social rent and shared ownership
• A single vehicular access from Tramway Road, with enhanced permeability through the site to the surrounding areas
• High-quality landscaping and urban greening with at least a 10% net gain in biodiversity
• Car and cycle parking provision in line with policy standards; and
• All homes designed to meet or exceed Nationally Described Space Standards.

We are a housebuilder, but as a Housing Association we are also a landlord with a lasting stake in the communities we build. With our residents we have co-created the Homes and Place Standard as the quality benchmark for all SNG schemes.  

We welcome the opportunity to consult with stakeholders, local residents and the wider community in developing these proposals, prior to submission of a full planning application to Bristol City Council later this year.

Public consultation will run from Monday 30 September to Monday 14 October 2024.

We are hosting a staffed drop-in exhibition on Wednesday 2nd October from 4 – 7pm at Arnos Manor Hotel, 470 Bath Road, Bristol, BS4 3HQ, where representatives from SNG and their design and planning team will be on hand to talk through the proposals and answer any queries.

Please take the time to view the information on this website and give your feedback via this survey .

Your comments and views are important and will be carefully considered by the design and planning team as they prepare the planning submission.

SNG has brought together a team of nationally recognised designers and consultants.

Click on the links to find out more about them.

• Architects - AWW 
• Landscape architects – MacGregor Smith 
• Planning consultants - Savills