Housing crisis: How are residents of Lawrence Weston demanding better housing?

After years of decay and demolition, Bristol residents have taken housing into their own hands—crafting eco-friendly, affordable homes designed by locals, for locals

Our Fair Future has teamed up with Antidote to bring you stories of people building a future that works, and they’re doing it in communities just like yours, showing what’s possible when we take charge together.

It’s a remarkable tale of determination, resilience and community spirit in one of Bristol’s most hard-hit neighbourhoods. After years of crumbling, damp-ridden housing stock being “raised to the ground” for being “unfit for living,” residents of Lawrence Weston have decided they’ve had enough—and are taking matters into their own hands.

Now, the tight-knit community is spearheading a bold, resident-led housing revolution, demanding not just more homes, but better homes—ones that are warm, affordable, and built to last.

Locals rallied together to draw up a Neighbourhood Development Plan, a formal policy blueprint that gives them a powerful say in what’s built—and how. Their message to developers couldn’t be clearer: quality over quantity.

New builds must be energy efficient, eco-friendly and future-proofed. That means no gas boilers, ever again. Instead, homes must feature ground or air source heat pumps, with developers taking a “fabric first” approach to ensure proper insulation.

And it doesn’t stop there—every single new property must be ready for electric vehicle charging points, as residents look to cut carbon emissions and slash their energy bills.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep the cost of living down as low as possible,” one community representative explained.

But this is no faceless regeneration scheme. Half of the new properties are reserved for people who already live in Lawrence Weston, ensuring locals aren’t priced out of their own neighbourhood.

Even more impressively, residents themselves are building 36 affordable homes, designed by the people, for the people.

These homes have been tailored to reflect how residents actually want to live—and will all be let at genuinely affordable rents, a lifeline in the face of Britain’s deepening housing crisis.

What started as a grassroots campaign has become a symbol of community empowerment—and a shining example of how local people can take control of their own future.

In Lawrence Weston, it seems, the bulldozers may have flattened the past—but the people are rebuilding something far stronger.

Watch the video below to find out more.