Bristol to build 3,500 homes a year by 2020

Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for housing has revealed that the local authority is expecting to significantly beat both its target for building new homes and its target for building affordable homes in the next two years.Speaking at Insider’s South West Property Forum, councillor Paul Smith, said the authority is continuing to work towards its target that in Bristol by 2020, 2,000 homes a year will be built, of which 800 will be affordable – but now expects to smash that target.But he added that it is also important to get the mix right of employment and residential property across the city.Insider’s property personality of the year, Gavin Bridge, director of Cubex, said there were similar problems with finding good-sized commercial land in the area.Insider’s South West Property Forum, held on Thursday at TLT’s offices in Bristol city centre were sponsored by Interaction, Lambert Smith Hampton, TLT and Willis Towers Watson. The event, which saw a packed room of 120 delegates, also featured a debate on the introduction of MEES – minimum energy efficiency standings, which come in to force in April. Full coverage of the event will be in the March issue of South West Business Insider magazine.