Residents living near a huge new Goram Homes development in Hengrove say they are continuing to be plagued with issues due to what they describe as mismanagement of the building site.
Bristol City Council’s planning enforcement team has opened a case against its own builder – the second time this has occurred with the Fosseway development near Wells Road, on the site of the former New Fosseway School. The new case was opened on March 2.
Locals say construction work is happening outside licensed hours, dust generated by the site is spilling into their gardens and onto nearby roads, and bollards on the site which are not being secured properly are creating a racket when they blow over in the wind.
Joe Brown, who said he was speaking on behalf of many people who lived by the site, told Bristol Live the problems were having a disproportionate impact on elderly locals.
“We have awful problems with this site,” Mr Brown said.
“(There is) noise to a lot of elderly residents, which is spoiling their lifestyle. Some of the residents (have) got breathing difficulties, so we’re suffering also from dust in the strong weather.”
“I think people are at their wits end, because obviously a lot of people (here) are retired. They don’t want to be woken up early in the morning.”
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Mr Brown accused the council and Goram Homes of turning a blind eye to the issues that continued to harm residents’ quality of life. He said he had repeatedly directed his concerns to his local councillors along with Stephen Baker, managing director of Goram Homes, and Nick Hibberd, chief executive of Bristol City Council. He said he had either been ignored or had the issues downplayed on the occasions he had received a response.
“We’ve got a list of problems that’re not getting addressed,” he said. “And as I tried to tell them, in (the) politest possible way, photographs, a diary of photographs, basically don’t lie. They contradict what they’re trying to tell me.”
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council confirmed there was an active enforcement case open against the site. BCC refused to comment on the open case in more detail.
Tim Kent, a councillor for the Hengrove and Whitchurch Park ward, said he planned to visit the site on Wednesday (April 1).
“Over the past few weeks I have had extensive conversations with the developers and planning enforcement putting to them the need to work within the planning restrictions and agreements and to be a considerate neighbour,” Cllr Kent said.
“Several people have understandably raised complaints – mostly about early working but occasionally about dust and barriers knocking in high wind. I know that changes are being made on site to ensure no work starts before 8am and I believe that planning enforcement are closely monitoring that.
“They are also asking for more action on dust control. I am visiting the site tomorrow to see progress and what action is being taken to mitigate these problems that neighbours have suffered from.”
Locals have been engaged in a running battle against the site ever since construction began on the site, where Goram Homes is building up to 200 new homes in two stages. Of those, half will be classed as ‘affordable’ and be added to the homes available for ‘social rent’ to people on the council’s HomeChoice housing waiting list system.
In July 2025, the council also investigated its own building company due to issues related to dust and noise. Then, residents had their Christmas ruined when an alarm on site went off intermittently over a thirteen day period during the holiday season.
House prices on the new development were recently slashed after just a few months on sale. Some were reduced by tens of thousands of pounds.
A spokesperson for local MP Karin Smyth’s office confirmed Ms Smyth had received several complaints from residents in relation to the site. Ms Smyth has written to Bristol City Council and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on her constituents’ behalf.
Stephen Baker, managing director at Goram Homes, said Goram and its private development partner Vistry were committed to running a tight ship.
“We would like to reassure the community that we, and our development partner Vistry, are committed to being a considerate neighbour as building work progresses at The Fosseway.
“We would like to clarify that work on site is permitted within the hours of 8am to 6pm (Mon-Fri) and 8am to 1pm (Sat), as approved by the local planning authority. We take compliance with these hours seriously and recognise the importance of minimising disruption to nearby residents, particularly more vulnerable members of the community.
“We make use of non-fixed pedestrian fencing as is standard on construction sites. They are used as flexible, temporary safety measures that can be moved as site conditions change, allowing us to maintain safe access arrangements.