Pods to house Bristol homeless to be built on car park

Plans for eight temporary accommodation pods for homeless people have been approved despite concerns they are next to a nursery.

The single bed units will be installed at Derby Street car park in St George, Bristol.

A total of 22 of the 45 parking spaces will be lost to make room for the metal-clad modular buildings called "Solohaus".

The units will be used for move-on accommodation for rough sleepers.

A similar scheme called ZEDPod exists across the road at Chalks Road car park, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The units were approved by Bristol City Council development control committee and each unit will each contain a living and kitchen area and shower.

The proposals received 37 objections, with many neighbours concerned about the proximity to St George Preschool and Redfield Lodge care home because of existing anti-social behaviour at the car park.

Officers, who recommended giving the go-ahead, told the meeting that the development would actually improve the area by supplying "natural surveillance" and lighting from the temporary homes, as well as new green space.

They said other issues raised by residents, including traffic congestion and adding more homes to an area with high housing density, were deemed to be acceptable.

The units will be "well below" national living space standards, meaning any resident can only live there for up to two years.

They will be managed by the Salvation Army, which has worked with the city council and developers Hill Residential on the project.

Green Councillor Lorraine Francis told members that she was concerned about the placement: "That car park is quite heavily used because there is nowhere to park in Church Road.

"I am more concerned about the appropriateness of the placement of it and I don't want us to overlook the concerns about the nursery by not considering the impact it might have on the children there."

Committee chair Green Councillorr Ani Stafford-Townsend said: "The Salvation Army element of it is quite compelling because the types of vulnerable people who will end up here are currently ending up where they don't have that support and then that has escalating mental health issues."

She added that the units would be a healthier solution than "being on the 13th floor of a tower block without that support".

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