Building Community Through Design & Collaboration

CLIENT: Bristol City Council
ARCHITECT: Emmett Russell Architects
PLANNING ARCHITECT: AHR Architects Ltd
PROCUREMENT: Westworks DPS

Overview

Branwhite forms part of Bristol City Council’s major new build housing programme, delivering over 140 new homes across three city sites. The programme will provide vital, affordable council housing that is safe, secure, and energy-efficient for families across Bristol, transforming small brownfield sites into sustainable new communities.

This design & build scheme provides 47 mixed-tenure homes, including houses and three apartment blocks, with one featuring retail at ground floor. 

The development adopts a fabric-first, low-carbon approach, featuring timber-frame construction, PV panels, EV charging, and ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) to create a highly energy-efficient neighbourhood. The project supports the city’s ambition to expand affordable, sustainable housing options for young families and local residents.

Procurement & Design Approach

Procured through the Westworks Dynamic Purchasing System, the scheme progressed under a two-stage tender process. Stepnell’s early involvement allowed the team to identify significant design efficiencies.

Originally conceived as a traditional masonry and concrete-frame development, the design was optimised to adopt timber-frame construction for most blocks. One building retained a concrete podium deck beneath the retail space, with three storeys of timber frame above to ensure suitable fire and acoustic separation between commercial and residential zones.

This approach provides a more eco-friendly and modern method of construction (MMC) solution, enabling year-round progress and reducing critical-path risks during winter months.

Site Surveys & Risk Mitigation

Comprehensive site surveys underpinned design development, including geotechnical investigations, topographical and contamination studies, and UXO surveys due to the area’s wartime history. Although no ordnance was found, these steps safeguarded delivery and satisfied local authority requirements.

Subsequent value engineering focused on optimising Block B. By rationalising its shape and footprint, Stepnell delivered the same usable area with improved layouts, avoiding costly underpinning works and enhancing the building’s relationship to neighbouring properties.

Programme & Phasing

Construction sequencing was refined in collaboration with the client’s team to respond to party-wall constraints and access issues near adjoining shops. The revised plan began with the houses to maintain programme momentum, followed by Blocks A, C, and finally B.

A detailed logistics strategy has established a one-way delivery system through the site, maximising safety and minimising disruption to residents. Temporary laydown areas and phased welfare relocation are enabling continuous material flow without affecting local parking.

Local Employment & Skills

Around 85 percent of labour is being sourced within a 30-mile radius of the site, meeting Bristol City Council’s social-value expectations. Stepnell continues to prioritise local SMEs for subcontract packages and to provide training and upskilling opportunities.

Key highlights include:

• A former handyman has achieved forklift and banksman qualifications.
• A trainee is undertaking an NVQ pathway toward site management.
• Apprentice and a year-out placement student are gaining hands-on experience across several Bristol schemes, strengthening the regional skills base.

Social Value & Community Impact

Social value delivery is being coordinated by a dedicated team including ambassadors for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR), Mental Health, and Employability & Education. The programme focuses on meaningful local engagement, wellbeing, and education.

Highlights to date:

• Community Volunteering: Stepnell colleagues have supported the Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust and Southmead Development Trust’s Ranch Playpark, carrying out cleaning, painting, and improvement works.
  
• Wellbeing Initiatives: Delivery of a Mental Health Roadshow for 11 local attendees, promoting awareness and access to support resources.
  
• Education & Careers Engagement: Participation in Blaise High School’s careers fair, inspiring 45 young people to consider careers in construction. Engagement with local schools such as Greenfield E_ACT Primary and Oasis Academy Connaught, providing mentoring and employability workshops.
  
• Local Collaboration: Ongoing partnerships with nearby small businesses and community organisations, including Rework, Filwood Hope Advice Centre, and The Matthew Tree Project, to strengthen community connections and awareness of opportunities in construction.

Collectively, these initiatives are delivering lasting benefits for the Lockleaze community—enhancing local skills, wellbeing, and inclusion alongside the delivery of much-needed new homes.

Environmental Strategy

Sustainability is embedded throughout the scheme with a combination of low- and zero-carbon technologies and modern methods of construction to minimise operational energy demand and reduce embodied carbon.

Key features include:

• Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs): Providing highly efficient, renewable heating and hot water for residents. By harnessing the stable temperature of the ground, the system significantly reduces carbon emissions and energy bills compared with traditional gas boilers.
  
• Timber-frame construction: Offering excellent thermal performance and reduced embodied carbon, while supporting cleaner, quieter neighbourhood operations.
  
• Photovoltaic (PV) panels and EV charging points: Further reducing carbon footprint and supporting the city’s transition toward net zero.

Together, these measures contribute to Bristol’s carbon-reduction targets and deliver long-term sustainability benefits for residents through lower energy use and improved comfort.

Conclusion

The Bristol Housing Schemes continue to demonstrate how thoughtful design and collaboration can unlock constrained urban plots while delivering tangible community benefit. Through proactive cost planning, risk management, and stakeholder engagement, Stepnell is creating sustainable, well-designed homes that are bringing new life and opportunity to Lockleaze—representing a lasting investment in Bristol’s housing future.