Police station near Bristol's Trinity Centre to become flats

The flats will be designed to protect occupants from potential noise disturbance from a nearby music venue

Plans to develop a police station near a music venue into more than 100 flats have been approved.

Trinity Road police station in Old Market, Bristol will be demolished and replaced by a social housing scheme with a smaller police station below.

Architects have designed the apartments to be protected from noise following concerns about disturbance from the nearby Trinity Centre music venue.

Councillor Richard Eddy said: "It seems to me this is a win-win situation."

"A brownfield site right near the city centre, 100% affordable housing.

"It's car-free and a sustainable location. And we've been assured that the noise issue shouldn't be a threat to the [Trinity Centre]," he added.

Councillors voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve the new social housing, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service..

'Power imbalance'

Craig McDonald, from The Guinness Partnership, said: "We feel we've designed a scheme that will protect our residents and the centre from potential noise issues in future."

He called the Trinity Centre "an important cultural venue for the city" and said that, at the centre's request, they had taken further measures, including moving bedrooms to the rear of the building.

To further protect residents from noise disturbance, the centre's chief executive, Emma Harvey, said the 104 flats must be properly insulated to prevent future noise complaints.

She said the centre was mindful that many tenants in social housing would be unable to easily move to different accommodation, if they found the flats too noisy.

"There is a power imbalance as always with these schemes.

"Individuals, particularly in social housing complexes, do not necessarily have the power of social mobility to move if they find themselves in inappropriate accommodation once they're placed there."