Rupert Street, Bristol
Greystar

Scheme
We provided community, political and media engagement and social impact support to Greystar that resulted in a unanimous approval from Bristol City Council two months before hotly contested local elections.
We ran a targeted programme of community engagement that through a dedicated project website and social media campaign, site tours and direct engagement with stakeholders and local influencers built a strong coalition of support.
The plans were for 249 co-living rooms, 328 student and a replacement 400 space car park up to 20-storeys on the site of the existing NCP Rupert Street car park.
Strategy
We worked closely with political stakeholders and the local media to articulate the unsightly nature of the building, the fact it was nearing the end of its life and the opportunity cost of not replacing it.
Ultimately, this engagement resulted in joint representations to the secretary of state to prevent the building's listing and a public campaign that demonstrated local support for the demolition of the existing car park.
Greystar’s nearby Unity Street/Zinc Works and Quarter co-living and student community (which we supported Summix on previously) presented an opportunity to measure and articulate the social impact these kind of communities could create.
We prepared a co-living briefing for politicians and other stakeholders that told the human-story of the new community and helped people to get excited about an additional development.
This created a platform to show members of the planning committee around the existing community so they could properly understand what was being proposed at Rupert Street.
This site tour allowed the project team to properly brief members on co-living, the need for student housing and the ambitious design moves on the Rupert Street application.
Outcome
Two months before the local elections, which coincided with the removal of the directly elected mayor in Bristol, we received support from every member of one of Bristol’s planning committees who praised the development and the approach taken.
A similar scheme (the Bearpit Premier Inn development) was considered on the same evening and whilst approved was voted against by every Green member on the planning committee. The Greens would go on to be the largest party on the council following the local elections.