'Affordable' flats on former Argos site all sold out

A major shared ownership development that has replaced a flagship store in South Bristol’s High Street has now been sold out, with all 50 flats taken up. And the housing association behind the scheme has said that another affordable housing development nearby is also nearly sold out, even before it has been completed.

The development called 66 East Street saw the demolition of a the huge Argos store in East Street, Bedminster, and the construction of 50 affordable homes with space for new retail shops on the ground floor along the main shopping street.

The site was bought by Firmstone, the local development company that also owns the now-closed down St Catherine’s Place shopping centre on East Street, and after work stalled for a while, all the homes were bought up by Bromford Housing Association.

The developers instigated a scheme which was, in planning terms, 100 per cent affordable, with all the homes being sold under a shared ownership scheme. First-time buyers from the housing waiting list that meet a set of criteria, which included having local ties to the area, were able to buy a share of a flat in the complex, with Bromford owning the rest and the new owner paying rent to Bromford too.

The one- and two- bedroom apartments were on the market for as little as £82,000 for a share, and now, as the development is completed, all of them have now sold out.

“Bromford Shared Ownership gives first-time buyers and those who do not currently own a property the opportunity to secure a new build home with Bromford,” a spokesperson for the housing association said. “Homebuyers pay a mortgage on the share they own, and pay rent on the remaining share, meaning a smaller deposit is required. Then, when the time is right, the homeowners can purchase more shares through a process called staircasing, gradually increasing the ownership of the home,” they added.

“We’re delighted to have supported so many people in their housing journey at this development, with Shared Ownership providing a smoother and easier route onto the property ladder,” said Karon O’Callaghan, the sales manager at Bromford.

“We’d like to thank Firmstone for their hard work, communication and expertise in design and build, which assures both us and our buyers that they’re settling in great apartments in a thriving location,” she added.

The fact that 66 East Street is now completely sold out is a big turnaround for Firmstone, which stopped work on the former Argos site after the post-Covid recession in the building industry. The deal with Bromford Housing saved the project, and now means 50 local people and families will be able to move in to help breathe new life to East Street.

“As a Bedminster-based developer, we are delighted to have contributed towards the provision of affordable housing at 66 East Street as part of the continuing regeneration of the area,” said a spokesperson for Firmstone Developments. “Our partnership with Bromford has been first-rate, achieving an excellent result in these fantastic apartments to meet the housing needs of local people,” they added.

Argos was bought by Sainsbury’s in 2017, and by September 2018, the supermarket giant had moved the Bedminster store to a section within its store in Winterstoke Road in Ashton Gate.

In late 2018, local developer Firmstone - which owns the St Catherine’s Place shopping centre opposite and have planning permission for a major development there as part of the Bedminster Green regeneration project - took on the store and submitted a planning application.

The scheme is one of the few ‘affordable housing’ success stories of the regeneration of Bedminster. Across the road, Firmstone’s plans to redevelop the shopping centre and build hundreds of new homes has collapsed, leaving the shopping centre completely empty and closed off.

In Luckwell Road, a 100 per cent affordable housing scheme to build new homes on the site of a former builders merchant has been mothballed with no work to complete it having taken place for 18 months, after the construction firm went bust. The regeneration projects that have or are happening have seen one huge student accommodation complex for 819 students completed in Dalby Avenue, and another for 50 students finished in West Street, and a ‘build-to-rent’ private development of almost 300 new flats called Stafford Yard on Malago Road is also nearing completion.

The developers of that Stafford Yard project are also building 21 new ‘affordable housing’ homes at the rear of the site closer to East Street - and have also teamed up with Bromford, who said all but one of those shared ownership homes has been sold.