Village parish council welcomes potential influx of buyers looking to leave Bristol

Banwell faces a potential influx of buyers searching for a city getaway.

The village has recently been named top spot for Bristol buyers looking to escape the city post lockdown in a study by website, Rightmove.

Housing developer, Bellway is currently building the Bilbie Grange development, off Wolvershill Road, in Banwell.

The South West company has received a spike in interest from city dwellers since lockdown began.

Sales manager, Rachel Way said: “Many city residents are now looking for a slower pace of life in a rural location post-lockdown.”

Rachel believes the driving force behind this trend could be the difference in prices between a city and Banwell home.

She added: “Although the Rightmove research found that in many cases across the UK, people are relocating to villages with higher house prices than the cities they are moving out of, for Banwell the opposite

is true.

“Average house prices in the village are significantly lower than Bristol, meaning that buyers in the city can get more for their money by moving to a rural location.”

Chair of Banwell Parish Council, Paul Harding welcomes the idea of more city buyers moving into the area.

He said: “Anyone buying one of these properties in Banwell are included in the community network and will be as welcome in the village as anyone else.

“Where anyone may have lived previously is irrelevant, indeed very many of our villagers, leaders and group organisers are not Banwell born and bred, myself included.”

“We also recognise how difficult it can be to integrate into village life, particularly in the midst of a pandemic, so we are in the process of printing a Welcome to Banwell leaflet detailing all the local groups and contacts which will be distributed to all residents, regardless of how long they may have lived in Banwell in the coming weeks.”

Mr Harding also expressed doubts over whether or not the growing number of housing developments in Banwell are sustainable for young families looking to stay there for a long period of time.

He added: “Banwell, like many villages, is seen as fair game for developers seeking to maximise profits by building unwanted and unsustainable developments with high end properties, rather than genuine affordable homes that are needed to sustain our villages and allow our young families to remain here.”