My
family and I have a habit of being quite the movers, we don’t spend too long in
the same area or even in the same region, moving to Bristol from the north
about four years ago. For three of those last four years, we lived in
Kingswood, an interesting area northeast of Bristol. But in August of last
year moved about three miles down the road to a place called Hanham Hall.
As the
name suggests, Hanham Hall is situated in Hanham. It’s a 10-minute walk from
Longwell Green and is right next to a cycle path that runs along to Central Bristol,
so in terms of transport and location it is ideal.
But you might have noticed that there is something slightly unusual about Hanham Hall, in that the houses don’t look like your usual Victorian semi-detached house that you’d find when you wander around Hanham.
Hanham Hall is a new type of housing development that is all about sustainability and being as green as possible. The whole ethos of the development is to use as little and to reuse as much as possible. Each house has access to a solar panel on the roof, to help reduce the amount of fossil fuel based electricity used by the residents. There is also an on-going drive for us to recycle as much of our waste possible which is supported by the strong sense of community that living here gives you.
But you might have noticed that there is something slightly unusual about Hanham Hall, in that the houses don’t look like your usual Victorian semi-detached house that you’d find when you wander around Hanham.
Hanham Hall is a new type of housing development that is all about sustainability and being as green as possible. The whole ethos of the development is to use as little and to reuse as much as possible. Each house has access to a solar panel on the roof, to help reduce the amount of fossil fuel based electricity used by the residents. There is also an on-going drive for us to recycle as much of our waste possible which is supported by the strong sense of community that living here gives you.
When
we moved in a year ago, construction was still going on, and so we got to watch
each house go up, get finished and its new residents move in as part of our
everyday routine. Every now and then over the course of the summer there would
be a barbecue that all the residents, both new and incumbent, would be invited
to. It felt like we were a family that was growing together. These small social
meets were imperative in making sure that everyone knew each other and felt
welcome here, which is why you would never walk past any residents here without
saying “Good morning!” before grumbling about the weather in true English
fashion and getting along on your way.
The
thing about living in a place like this is that you don’t quite realise how
unusual it is, this is just something that happens after living here for so
long. I’ve always forgotten about how weird this place is until one of my
friends gives me a lift or comes over. I’ve had a mixed range of reactions,
usually confusion quickly followed by sudden realisation that it is a pretty unique place. I think by far
the most memorable reaction was when my friend’s dad said “the houses look like
small ski-slopes!”.
The
last year I’ve spent living here has been the most eventful and possibly the
most important so far and so until we up sticks and move once more, I am happy
to call Hanham Hall my home.
This blog post was written by Shape My City participant Hani Salih @HaniDanikwoBear for #takeover
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