Hello!

Thanks for visiting our page all about Rodfords Mead - a small plot of land in Hengrove (South Bristol) where the big idea is to create new homes and a new community space that are good for local people and the planet.

This page shares the journey so far - how the community has worked together to develop ideas and plans for the site. And what’s happening next and how you can be involved.

If want to find out more, or you have any questions, please email us at [email protected] or message us on 07516034068.

Artist impression of the new homes and community space to be built on the Rodfords Mead site

Upcoming events

Get involved in bringing the site to life!

Rodfords Mead is made with and for the community. There are lots of ways to get involved as we move towards construction.

In April, we’re inviting neighbours for a spring-clean, helping to get the site ready for a Spring and Summer programme of free hands-on workshops and activities.

These workshops and events will include:

• Experimenting with making things with the clay being dug up from the ground beneath our feet on site.
• Making seating and gabion walls from discarded construction materials.
• Planting flowers and herbs for the future shared garden.
• Testing out uses for the community space.

👉🏽👉🏽 Sign up here so we know how much food to prep! 👈🏽👈🏽

Creating space for community ideas & ownership

The small plot of land between 32 and 34 Rodfords Mead used to have garages on it. The garages were demolished in the early 2000s and the land has been left vacant since then.

WeCanMake has been working with the local community to re-imagine what the space could be, to transform it from a site troubled by fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour into something regenerative for the neighbourhood.

Through pop-up events and hands-on workshops, we explored possible uses for the site. These events have included community feasts, clay-tile making workshops, circus and play-events.

Alongside these pop-up events, a group of local residents stepped forward to become a crew of “Neighbourhood Makers” and took part in a series of co-design workshops where they deep dived into topics including building with natural materials, and different forms of community-led housing.

Lots of ideas for how the space could be better used flowed, including affordable homes, bike repair shop, a cafe, play and growing space, and even an art gallery!

The emerging design ideas were shared with neighbours at a pop-up exhibition on the site to gather wider feedback. The ideas were then developed into a formal planning application that was submitted to Bristol City Council, alongside a bid to bring the land into community ownership.

What are we building?

The vision for Rodfords Mead that was co-designed with the local community is for a three-storey building that contains six genuinely affordable homes, a shared garden, and a new community space for local people.

The building is designed to be built with homegrown low carbon natural materials, including timber and clay. The components of the building can all be made locally in WeCanMake’s neigbourhood factory, creating jobs and training for local people. Well insulated and powered by renewable energy the building will also be low energy and low cost to run.

In Autumn 2025, planning permission was secured at a fast pace for these things - less than 100 days! https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/community-led-development-gets-the-green-light/). Hooray 😄

Construction will start in the Autumn of 2026, and we’re aiming to welcome our first residents into the homes by the end of 2027.