An 11.62-acre residential site at Filton airfield has changed hands in an eight-figure deal that suggests the housebuilding sector is taking off at last. The land, with outline planning consent for 273 homes, was sold by developers Bovis to rival housebuildr Barratt David Wilson. It is part of the larger Charlton Hayes housing development which has planning consent for 2,200 homes.
Director Chris Glover, pictured, said: “Increased on-site activity in the housing sector in the first weeks of 2012 suggests the major house builders are adjusting their portfolios to obtain traction despite difficult trading conditions.
“This site was offered to the market on a discreet basis with the strict instruction that the transaction must be completed by Christmas 2011. We managed the entire marketing process in a restricted period of time and achieved four unconditional proposals for the land. We are seeing a lot more activity in the sector and are encouraged by the levels achieved on this high profile site. The figures are not far off the highs achieved in 2007 – before the downturn.
“While trading conditions remain tough house builders are reporting increased traffic in their show homes and are seeing a better quality of buyer coming forward.” Housebuilders are now seeking different ways to press ahead with development despite the downturn, he added, and “this could mean proceeding with 10 smaller deals rather than one big one which is broadly what has happened here”.
The Charlton Hayes development is a key part of South Gloucestershire Council’s core planning blueprint strategy, which will shape housing development across the area for the next 15 years. The blueprint, approved last December, envisages 5,700 new homes in the Cribbs Causeway and Patchway areas with 2,500 of them on Filton Airfield. Owner BAE Systems plans to shut the airfield at the end of this year.
