Bath & North East Somerset Council in the UK has received an additional £18.2m ($23.4m) from Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to initiate the sustainable redevelopment of the long-derelict Bath Gasworks site.
The funding will enable the creation of a new city centre neighbourhood with more than 900 low-carbon private and affordable homes.
The Bath Gasworks site, which has remained unused and fenced off since 1971, is set to undergo cleaning and reconnection works, making use of the grant from the government’s housing and regeneration agency Homes England.
The site’s transformation is the result of a collaborative effort between homebuilder St William, a Berkeley company, and Bath & North East Somerset Council.
A ground-breaking event was held on Wednesday (26 March) to celebrate the commencement of the redevelopment project. The event brought together the key partners involved in driving the regeneration forward.
St William, which owns approximately 65% of the former gasworks, already received planning consent last December for 611 low-carbon homes at the site, alongside a host of community amenities.
The approved plan for the site includes a 2.7-acre riverside public park, a nursery, a café, electric car charging points, and a network of pedestrian and cycle routes.
The landscape design comprises the addition of 263 new native trees and an anticipated 38% biodiversity net gain.
Moreover, an investment of an additional £2m is earmarked for sustainable transport routes and other critical infrastructure in the area.
The remaining 35% of the site, owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council, will see the development of approximately 300 additional homes.
Both St William and the council have worked closely with Historic England, an executive nondepartmental public body, to ensure that the redevelopment plans preserve the city’s historic character and its UNESCO World Heritage status.
Berkeley managing director Elkie Russell said: “We are excited to transform this redundant brownfield site into a new landmark place to live in the heart of Bath. Once complete the 611 new, high-quality, low-carbon private and affordable homes will sit alongside a new public park, river walk, café and children’s nursery.
“We are hugely proud to be delivering these works in partnership with Bath & North East Somerset Council and Homes England, and to have the opportunity to transform this redundant brownfield site into a sustainable city centre neighbourhood.”
This project follows St William’s recent full planning approval for the redevelopment of Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks following a Section 106 agreement with Newham Council.
