Soaring property prices and rents are pushing Bristol's essential key workers and young professionals out of the city centre, threatening the smooth running of vital services. According to Robin Gray, director of Alec French Architects, a potential solution lies in the strategic development of high-quality co-living spaces.
More Than Just a Small Room: The Co-Living Proposition
The common critique that co-living apartments are too small is challenged by new designs. For instance, revised plans for the St John's Gate development in Southville propose 100 one-bedroom studios. These units range from 20 to 27 square metres per resident, a significant increase compared to the average student cluster room of 11.5 sqm.
Furthermore, the scheme includes around 4 sqm of internal shared amenity space per person, plus terraces and gardens. The development, submitted on behalf of developer Land & Buildings, will feature communal kitchens, lounges, a gym, co-working spaces, and rooftop terraces, aiming to redefine urban living beyond the traditional student flat.
Freeing Up Homes and Easing Congestion
Gray highlights several wider benefits of this model. Crucially, by providing purpose-built, managed accommodation for single people, co-living can reduce demand on the existing shared housing market. This, in turn, frees up more traditional homes for families.
There are also transport and environmental advantages. Enabling key workers to live close to their workplaces reuces traffic congestion and commuting from suburban areas. Economically, co-living can make challenging urban brownfield sites, where high land values deter traditional housing, more viable for development.
Part of a Broader Solution
Alec French Architects is already involved in other Bristol projects, having secured permission last year for a mixed-use scheme on Rupert Street that will provide co-living for 249 people. Gray acknowledges that co-living cannot solve all housing challenges alone but insists its benefits should not be overlooked in heated debates.
The firm is contributing to Bristol City Council's draft co-living policy document, hopeful that with the right framework, this form of accommodation can help ensure vital workers have the affordable homes they desperately need in the city they serve.
