"This isn't housing, this is an investment vehicle"

These words were spoken by Councillor Guy Poultney at the Planning Committee Meeting on 27 Aug 2025. The item being discussed was the "Build To Rent" development that will be built at Silverthorne Lane in Lawrence Hill.

I am not going to repeat the rest of the discussion in this article, but I urge you to watch the recording of the meeting and hear the impassioned discussions where you will hear our Councillors try to agree on the right balance for housing in Bristol.

Affordable Housing (see details in document)

E) IS THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT VIABLE, AND DOES IT PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

Background

The proposed development includes 434 Build to Rent dwellings. These fall within Use Class C3 of the Use Classes Order. Consequently the proposed development is required to address the Council’s Affordable Housing Policies set out in Policy BCS17 of the adopted Local Plan. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the associated Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) were revised in 2019, and these revisions are pertinent to the assessment of scheme viability. This is particularly so in respect of Build to Rent schemes, which are predicated on a long term income stream, rather than being sold on completion. Policy BCS17 of the adopted Local Plan does not deal specifically with Build to Rent, however it is relevant to note that PPG suggests that 20% affordable housing is a suitable benchmark for affordable housing provision from Build to Rent schemes, subject to scheme viability.

Viability Claim

The applicant is stating that the proposed scheme is unable to provide any affordable housing. To this end they have submitted a Viability Report produced by CBRE to support the claim. Officers instructed Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) to independently assess the viability of the scheme, having reference to the CBRE report, but with the ability to adopt alternative inputs where they felt it appropriate.