Work has begun to prepare the site of the Baltic Wharf Caravan Club park next to The Cottage on the south side of the Floating Harbour, with the council-owned site now being cleared for 166 new homes<\/a> – 40 per cent of which will be classed as affordable. The council\u2019s housing development arm Goram Homes announced it had finally struck a deal with housebuilder The Hill Group today (Octr 13) with work beginning on the same day.<\/p>\n The \u2018joint venture\u2019 deal will formalise the ownership of the land and the homes once they\u2019ve been built, and be a partnership between Goram Homes, The Hill Group and Sovereign Housing Association. SNG will use Government grants to buy 66 of the 166 flats, after Bristol City Council<\/a> controversially announced last year it would no longer be funding the affordable homes part of the development.<\/p>\n The Homes England funding will mean SNG can offer 50 of the flats for social rent to people on Bristol\u2019s HomeChoice housing waiting list scheme, with another 16 being available for shared ownership. The 40 per cent meets the council\u2019s affordable housing policy, and is a good deal for the city, the man in charge of Bristol\u2019s housing policy said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a pivotal moment for Baltic Wharf,\u201d said Cllr Barry Parsons, the chair of the homes and housing policy committee. \u201cWith Goram Homes and The Hill Group\u2019s partnership formalised, we can look forward to dozens more homes for those households with the greatest need of housing, in the heart of the city. We can also confirm that the affordable homes will be owned and managed by the social housing provider SNG.<\/p>\n \u201cBaltic Wharf demonstrates what\u2019s possible when we unlock the potential of challenging sites through strong partnerships. The delivery of 66 affordable homes reflects Goram Homes\u2019 commitment to working collaboratively to bring forward the homes our city so urgently needs, despite significant viability challenges for the Baltic Wharf development.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis important announcement also confirms our commitment to delivering affordable housing in this city by every means possible, recognising that direct management by the council is not the only solution,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The development of the Caravan Club site has been controversial ever since the Labour<\/a> administration included it in a list of council-owned land that could be developed in 2018, when the city council launched a housing development company called Goram Homes and listed the harbourside site as one of the first places that could be redeveloped.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Tree bride says marriage with a tree is one of \u2018commitment\u2019<\/a>READ MORE: Tree brides, deadly flooding and caravans – the bizarre saga of Baltic Wharf<\/a><\/p>\n The man in charge of the council\u2019s housing at the time, former councillor Paul Smith, said it was \u2018a nonsense\u2019 that a prime city centre waterfront site was being used as a caravan park<\/a>, when it could see much-needed homes built there.<\/p>\n Plans for between 150 and 200 new flats were produced in 2019 and at the start of 2020, and were controversial from the very start, with neighbours branding them \u2018a monstrosity\u2019<\/a>. A plan for flats there eventually overcame serious concerns about flooding, and the loss of all the scores of trees that were a feature of the caravan park.<\/p>\n There were other concerns in Bristol too – in September 2020, a group of around 70 women symbolically \u2018married\u2019 the many trees on the caravan club site<\/a>, to highlight the loss of trees and the environment if flats are built there.<\/p>\n And today, that day came, as contractors moved in to fell the trees. For the past month or so, leaders of that campaign have been asking The Hill Group, Goram Homes and local councillors if they could have one last visit to the site to \u2018say goodbye\u2019 to their tree partners, but have been refused. One councillor said they would not be allowed on for health and safety reasons – after the work began.<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_BRI_PG_131025baltic-45.jpg\")
Workers clearing the former caravan park at Baltic Wharf in Bristol today, Monday 13 October 2025, as trees have been cut down and the area stipeed of vegetation(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_BRI_PG_131025baltic-36.jpg\")
Workers clearing the former caravan park at Baltic Wharf in Bristol today, Monday 13 October 2025, as trees have been cut down and the area stipeed of vegetation(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_in-holy-matreem-727801.jpg\")
The mass wedding ceremony which saw 70 women marry the trees at the caravan park on Bristol’s harbourside in September 2020.(Image: Peter Herridge \/ SWNS)<\/p>\n