Work to deliver 67 much-needed social rent homes at Luckwell Road in Bedminster is restarting following the appointment of a new contractor.

Bristol housing association, Brighter Places, have brought Markey Construction on board to complete the scheme of eight terraced houses and 59 flats, many with beautiful views over Bristol.

Work on the vacant, urban site originally started in November 2020 however the previous contractor unfortunately fell into insolvency in November 2023 and work had to stop immediately.  Since then Brighter Places have been working hard to secure a new contractor against the background of ongoing challenges for the construction industry following Brexit, Covid and other recent political and economic events.

The delay also necessitated a rethink to the original scheme. Now all 67 homes will be available at social rent which is typically around 50% less than local market rent.

The project has been supported with a grant of £3,581,620 from Bristol City Council and £8,710,000 funding from Homes England.

Anna Klimczak, Chief Executive at Brighter Places said, “We are delighted to secure Markeys Construction who bring expertise and commitment to complete our scheme at Luckwell Road and really pleased that the development will be 100% social rent making these homes properly affordable.

“As a Bristol housing association determined to help tackle the city’s acute housing shortage we have found the external challenges and resulting delays to deliver these homes at Luckwell Road incredibly frustrating.  We would like to thank the local community for their patience, especially since work stopped, plus our partners at Homes England and Bristol City Council for their funding and support from the start. We can now look forward to finalising the scheme and providing much-needed homes in the area.”

Richard Dudgeon, the Managing Director from Markey Construction Limited said, “We are delighted to be appointed for this project by Brighter Places to bring much needed affordable housing in Bristol and thank them for the great opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and experience.”

Councillor Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee at Bristol City Council said, “It’s great to see this scheme moving forward and I welcome the decision that all 67 properties will be available at social rent, providing our city with much needed affordable housing.   Despite the ongoing challenges with development across the city, we have remained determined in supporting Brighter Places to ensure these affordable, high-quality homes are built and will help transform lives. We are committed to the delivery of new social rent homes and I thank Brighter Places for their perseverance with this scheme.”

All the homes at Luckwell Road will have carbon-reducing technologies to create comfortable, energy-efficient homes with minimal energy bills.  A fabric-first approach will use building materials to reduce energy consumption, Porotherm building blocks will reduce heat loss and Ground Source Heat pumps will maintain a regular temperature in every home.

Markeys have already started some preliminary works on site and the scheme is due to be completed in Spring 2027.