Clifton Village: Former WHSmith building to be redeveloped

The Clifton Village development would include offices, shops and restaurants

Plans to replace a derelict building in the heart of Bristol's Clifton Village with offices, shops and restaurants have been approved.

Apart from being used as a temporary ice rink, the building - once home to a WHSmiths - has been empty for 10 years.

The site is covered in graffiti and has become an eyesore in one of the most visited parts of the city.

Bristol City Council has approved the plans for the building, despite objections from local heritage groups.

The building, in Clifton Down Road, has stood empty since 2010 except for a brief period in 2014 when it was used for a temporary Christmas ice rink.

The outside is covered in graffiti and council officers said it is in "a considerable state of disrepair".

In February 2019 site owners THAT Group applied to demolish the building and replace it with a three-storey property containing shops, a cafe/restaurant and offices.

The empty building is covered in graffiti

Planning permission has been granted despite objections

This followed their failed 2015 application to replace the building and replace it with shops and flats.

Local residents were consulted three times about the current plans, and the council received nearly 300 letters of objection.

Many of the concerns were about the new development causing congestion in the area.

The Clifton and Hotwells Improvement society also objected, claiming the plans "fail spectacularly to deliver the high quality of design, the layout and the sort of user that the site demands".

Historic England said that while it supported the site being developed, the THAT Group proposals were not in keeping with an area which contains several listed buildings.

Despite the complaints, planning permission was granted subject to no parking permits being allocated to any businesses which move into the new building.

The building has been largely unused for a decade