A DEVELOPER says work to build 42 retirement flats in the middle of Staple Hill will start again soon.
Churchill Living started building Brunel Lodge, a four-storey development of 42 one and two-bedroomed apartments, on Page Road last summer.
But work was paused before Christmas, and the site’s landmark crane has not moved for months.
Churchill, which is one of the country’s biggest retirement home builders and operators, first applied for permission to build on the site of the former Staple Hill Infant School in 2022.
The developer appealed to the government’s Planning Inspectorate the following year because South Gloucestershire Council, which owned the site at the time, had failed to make a decision on planning permission within the legal three-month time limit.
The council fought the appeal, saying it would have rejected the plans, but after Churchill Living won permission for the project, the council sold it the land.
Churchill Living named the development Brunel Lodge and said the apartments were aimed at the over-60s.
After work was paused the developer posted a message on its website, which said: “The timeline of this development is under review and may affect the launch date.
“We remain committed to delivering this development and will update you after registration when further details are available.”
The Voice contacted Churchill Living, and a spokesperson said: “We expect construction works at our new Brunel Lodge development in Staple Hill to be back under way in early May.”
The company said construction work had been paused “for business reasons” and it expects work on the site to be completed next year.
• The site is one of two in Staple Hill where work has not been taking place as previously predicted.
At the former Bristol Uniforms factory site in nearby Wathen Street, developer Woodstock Homes had indicated demolition work would start early this year.
The builder, which is working with affordable homes provider Bromford Flagship to provide 56 homes at the site behind Fountain Square and Broad Street, had indicated that construction work would begin this spring after being granted planning permission last October.
The Voice has asked Woodstock Homes for an update on the project and whether it has a revised date for demolition to start.