03/09/2021

Sustainable City Centre Homes at Castle Park View Near Completion

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As the tallest residential block in Bristol nears completion, Bouygues UK and Linkcity welcomed Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, for a visit to the 26-storey tower yesterday. The Mayor learnt more about the building work and received a tour of the impressive building which will soon bring 375 much-needed new homes to the city centre, including 75 affordable homes.

Built by Bouygues UK, designed by Chapman Taylor and with the support of Linkcity, M&G Investments, Homes England, Bristol City Council and Abri (formerly Yarlington Housing Group), construction of Castle Park View will be finished in Spring 2022.The new homes will host a range of sustainable features as part of the council’s plans to build new homes sustainably in central locations. The apartments are heated by the nearby Castle Park Energy Centre, the largest water source heat pump in the country. The new water source heat pump takes water from the nearby floating harbour, extracts the heat and uses it to provide low-carbon heat and hot water for local businesses and residents.

Castle Park View’s design includes numerous sustainability features which contributed to it achieving a level four standard in the Code for Sustainable Homes certification, an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes. The sustainable design features include nearly 200 photovoltaic roof-mounted solar panels, more than 500 cycle parking spaces, energy efficient light fittings and kitchen appliances, electric charging points at 20% of the car parking spaces, as well as diverting 99.9% of waste generated during the build from landfill.
By making efficient use of a brownfield site near the city centre, Castle Park View will also support sustainable living in Bristol. The site is within walking distance of Bristol Temple Meads station and Bristol Bus and Coach Station, as well as on walking and cycling routes across the city, reducing car traffic within the city centre.

The project has also benefitted the local area through various charitable and community initiatives lead by Bouygues UK. This includes an estimated £40 million of social value to the local economy by using a local supply chain and sub-contractors, securing employment for 55 people on site, raising more than £7,000 for local charities, donating laptops to nearby schools and staff undertaking volunteer work and providing more than 300 career support sessions through local schools and colleges, as well as Job Centre Plus.

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “It’s great to see these homes nearing completion. This is a great example of building the homes we desperately need without putting undue pressure on the environment by making the most of brownfield sites in the city centre, as well as bringing value to the community throughout the build. Recommendations from the recent Citizens’ Assembly included the need to rapidly reduce the impact of our homes on climate change and to make changes to neighbourhoods that make traveling easier, healthier, and better for the environment. Castle Park View supports these ambitions by bringing high quality new homes to Bristol in a sustainable location, with direct access to walking and cycling links and heated by our low-carbon heat network.”

John Boughton, Regional Managing Director of Bouygues UK, said: “As a Bristol boy, born and bred, it is amazing to see this building near completion on this former industrial site. Working so closely with such a wide range of partners has been really rewarding for the whole Bouygues UK team and one which we hope to replicate on other projects.
“I would particularly like to thank our project team on site here are Caste Park View, who have worked tirelessly and diligently through the pandemic to deliver this building. It hasn’t been easy for them but they have pulled together to get to this stage in the build – which is great to see.”