News / Development
Green council leader defends chopping down trees on harbourside
The Green leader of Bristol City Council has defended contractors chopping down dozens of trees on the harbourside.
Earlier this week workmen began felling trees at the Baltic Wharf Caravan Club, next to the Cottage pub, to make way for new apartments.
Goram Homes, the council-owned developer, is planning to build 166 homes on the former caravan club, which closed down this summer.
The development has long been controversial, with environmental campaigners criticising the loss of so many trees. A few women even ‘married’ some of the trees.
166 new flats will be built as part of the Baltic Wharf development on the former caravan site – image: Goram Homes
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Green councillor for Southville Tony Dyer said that the council was responsible for providing housing.
There are many thousands of families in Bristol waiting for social housing, and 50 of the apartments at Baltic Wharf will give some of them a new home.
He said: “What needs to be recognised is that not all of the trees at Baltic Wharf are in prime condition.
“Despite it being described as an open space, it’s actually a caravan site and most of the trees are inaccessible unless you actually pay to park your caravan or trailer on the site.
“Wherever possible we would prefer to avoid having to remove trees. But we also have a responsibility as a council to provide housing.
“What we’ve now got with the scheme coming forward is 166 homes. 66 of those are affordable with 50 of those being social rented homes to go directly to people on our housing waiting list, where we have 22,000 households.
“We are keen to deliver the housing that people need in Bristol. Sometimes it’s easy to be overly focused on one particular area, and not look at the wider problem.
“One of the ugliest things you can see in this city is people living in habitation that is simply not suitable for their needs, and we want to address that as well as trying to do whatever we can to protect the environment.”
More than 150 new trees are due to be planted to replace the 70 that will be felled at the site of a former caravan club – photo: Martin Booth
The 66 affordable homes will be bought by the Sovereign Network Group housing association.
These were initially due to be bought by the council and rented out as council housing, until budget cuts controversially meant this plan was dropped.
That’s partly because there is a renewed focus on making sure existing council housing is safe to live in. The apartments will be spread over six different blocks, ranging from four to six storeys tall.
As well as the 50 social housing flats, the other 16 affordable homes will be made available for shared ownership.
Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
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