Bristol mayoral candidate Sandy Hore-Ruthven pledges new homes

Sandy Hore-Ruthven said his manifesto was "all about action, not words"

A charity boss who hopes to become mayor of Bristol says he wants to build 2,000 new council homes by 2030 to tackle the city's "housing crisis".

Green Party candidate Sandy Hore-Ruthven launched his campaign for City Hall with pledges to reduce emissions from council housing by 75%.

He also pledged to commit to continued support for the private sector to build 2,000 homes each year.

Mr Hore-Ruthven said his manifesto was "all about action, not words".

At the launch of his pledges at Easton Community Centre, he said there were 13,000 people on council housing waiting lists and homeless numbers were at the "highest recorded level for a decade".

'Place to call home'

"In 21st Century Bristol no-one should have to sleep rough," he said.

"People who sleep on the streets and people on the waiting list deserve to have a permanent place to call home."

In his speech he said Bristol City Council had only built 150 council houses since 2015 and the number of affordable homes was "half the target set by this Labour administration".

Along with 2,000 new council houses he has also pledged to make the city's 27,000 council homes low carbon by "retrofitting insulation and energy-efficient systems".

"If the private sector will not build us out of the problem there is only one solution," he said.

"If you elect me as mayor I promise you I will build new council homes and insulate the old."

• The other candidates announced so far for the mayoral election on 7 May are Marvin Rees (Labour), Samuel Williams (Conservative) and Mary Page (Liberal Democrat).