Try telling bus drivers, nurses and teachers there’s no homes

BBRISTOL needs a lot more new homes, there can be no doubt about that. There is a national shortfall of maybe two to three million homes and since Bristol is such a great place to live, we too have a shortfall in homes.

The city has grown over the past 30 years and is set to continue to grow. So we need more homes, and lots of them.

It’s not enough to say, as some do, that we can build them all on brownfield sites in Bristol and with small plots of “infill”. You can’t.

Infill is typically just a few homes, and there are not enough brownfield sites. Propose anything and the Nimby brigade (Not In My Backyard) get all shirty and irate. A lot of the time, these people just don’t have the basic facts.

Bristol is a city. It’s not the countryside. If you want nature, go and live in the coutryside. If you live in a city, expect growth. The view is not yours.

Angry local residents should be grateful for what they’ve had. They can go out to the countryside on trips like everyone else. There are some good sites coming along in south Bristol and we need the new homes. The local Nimbys have lost on that one, so get over it and move on. Try telling the nurses, teachers and bus drivers they don’t deserve to have a decent home.

One simple solution could be to look at the map, see where the existing underused train lines are, and see where they lead. Are there any good areas within commuting distance of Bristol? Well yes, come to mention it, there are!

We can build homes in Bristol and also in commuter areas. Building outside will help relieve high demand in Bristol itself. After the pandemic anyway more people will be working from home a few days a week, not the office, so local areas become more important.

Train routes out of Temple Meads to north Bristol and its adjoining areas could see a building boom. We need another Bradley Stoke, but with decent train connections this time. Anyone got any ideas for the mayors?

Simon Lloyd Bristol