Developer working with Bristol City Council to tackle the housing crisis as part of UN Smart Cities Challenge
Work on a pioneering scheme to deliver affordable and sustainable housing across five sites in Bristol has started after receiving planning permission from Bristol City Council.
Social and affordable housing developer EDAROTH (an acronym for Everyone Deserves a Roof Over Their Head) is leading the design, production and delivery of 25 net zero homes as the pilot for a new model for providing council housing in Bristol – as part of its involvement in the UN Habitat Climate Smart Cities challenge.
The new homes will be a mix of 13 houses and 12 apartments and will be developed by EDAROTH using offsite manufacturing methods to create low energy-use homes which are net zero in use and will provide much needed social housing for the city.
These homes are being delivered as part of the council’s New Home programme being led by the council’s Housing Delivery team.
Work is now starting on five sites on land owned by the council, using the innovative approach from EDAORTH (part of AtkinsRéalis) which involves manufacturing the majority of parts offsite in a UK factory and delivering them to the site reducing the carbon impact of the development process.
This approach also ensures the homes will be delivered up to 50% more quickly compared with traditional methods of construction – with minimal disruption to residents living near the development sites.
Councillor Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee, said: “The delivery of new council homes is really important for the city, and I am delighted to see our Housing Delivery Team exploring new and innovative means of building homes with partners such as EDAROTH.
“The learning from this and other projects will help drive delivery across small sites in the city, allowing us to make best use of our land to meet our priority housing need.
“The Climate Smart Cities Challenge has allowed us to look at delivering new homes on small sites which are integrated into existing communities, and with the highest levels of sustainability and energy performance for the people who live there. This is something to be really celebrated.”
The homes will be produced to the highest quality to ensure they are built to last, and they are expected to meet and exceed the Future Homes Standard coming into force this year, as well as meeting EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) A+.
Mark Powell, Managing Director at EDAROTH, added: “Like cities around the country, Bristol faces a huge demand for affordable homes. This scheme is really an exemplar of how local authorities can work in partnership to address the national housing crisis effectively, while at the same time reduce the level of local authority spend on temporary accommodation.
“We’re looking forward to starting work on this scheme which not only supports the city council’s ambition to meet demand for housing but also aims to provide homes where people need them, to enhance communities and create thriving places to live.”
The agreement between EDAROTH and Bristol City Council is based on an award-winning approach developed by the council, and the One City team, with partners including the Housing Festival, AtkinsRéalis and EDAROTH, as one of four winning projects in the UN Habitat Climate Smart Cities Challenge.
Part of the challenge includes the delivery of new housing projects to illustrate how aggregating small sites for development, and overcoming systemic barriers, could unlock sites to deliver truly affordable social housing. Work is due to be completed by Spring 2026.
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