Hope Rise Welcomes New Residents
The multi-award winning Hope Rise development on Chalks Road in St George, Bristol, has been welcoming its new residents since the new year.
Bristol City Council, in partnership with ZED PODS, YMCA and the Bristol Housing Festival, has provided these much-needed attractive, zero-carbon modular ZED POD homes for young people at risk of homelessness as part of the council's social housing provision.
Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, commented: "We are really pleased to see this development finished, particularly as it demonstrates that new housing is about creating great places that promote resilient communities.
"Bristol is a city of innovation, and we have taken a lead on exploring new solutions to the housing crisis that is evident across the country. We all need to work together to tackle these big issues, and there has been some fantastic partnership working to bring these ZED POD homes to the city."
First of its kind
The one- and two-bedroom apartments are built on a podium above a council-owned car park. This takes advantage of the air rights, removing the land cost and consequently making the development extremely affordable. Hope Rise is the first 100% socially-rented development of its kind in the country.
"I felt so alone for so long. I felt unloved and left behind, forgotten by the world. I think to be a part of a community and to be with people who genuinely want to look out for each other is remarkable," a Hope Rise resident
The Hope Rise development is a demonstration of how innovation can help to solve our housing crisis, through the way homes are built and rethinking land use in central Bristol.
Creating a community at Hope Rise
From the outset, the project has looked for innovative ways to create a community, recognising that this cannot be done simply through physical design. Through collaboration with YMCA Bristol, two of the apartments have been assigned to designated 'community builders', who will encourage interaction and neighbourliness in this new community and encourage residents to invest in the Hope Rise and St George communities.
This will be something they will explore together as they settle in over the next few months.
Says Julia Clapp, YMCA Chaplain: "Home for many of us is something we take for granted, but it's not a given for everyone and the response from those nominated for Hope Rise has highlighted again the need for more housing like Hope Rise; housing that feels like 'home' and where you get to be part of a community.
"At the YMCA our aim is to see young people 'belong, contribute and thrive. Hope Rise creates an environment where this is possible."
Original Source: Bristol Property Live
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