Knowle: plans refused for 800 flats on shopping centre site

Developers had planned to demolish Broadwalk Shopping Centre to make way for flats

Councillors have blocked a plan to demolish a 50-year-old shopping centre to make way for 800 flats.

Developers have been denied permission to turn Broadwalk in Knowle, south Bristol, into apartment blocks, along with a number of shops and restaurants.

The plans had met with opposition from many residents, who said the project was too dense for the space.

Bristol City Council's planning committee voted unanimously to refuse the project earlier.

It had been recommended for approval by council planners in advance of the meeting, but all nine members of the committee were unconvinced.

Many of the units in Broadwalk shopping centre are vacant

Under the plans, the site, which backs onto Redcatch Park, had been due to be named Redcatch Quarter, and developers intended to provide accommodation for up to 2,000 people.

Applicant, Broadside Holdings Ltd, had hoped to demolish the Broadwalk shopping centre, along with the adjacent multi-storey car park.

As well as the flats, it promised a mixture of shops and restaurants.

But the plans met with more than 250 objections on the council's planning portal, compared to just 33 statements in favour.

Commonly cited concerns were the height of the 12-storey blocks, and the lack of parking provision for the flats.

People living nearby feared new residents would have been forced to park in the surrounding streets.

Existing residents raised concerns over parking and the density of the development

The project was also criticised because fewer than 10% of the flats were set to be classed as affordable, despite the city council's target being 30% for new developments.

Others feared that it would eat into space reserved for shopping and leisure, which they said was already limited in the neighbourhood.

The proposed Redcatch Quarter also divided local councillors.

Green councillor Lisa Stone, warned of the health impacts of poor quality, high-density housing.

"Intense urban environments can exacerbate mental illness and represent threatening environments to vulnerable users, or negatively affect our physical health through exposure to air and noise pollution," she said.

She added: "Access to daylight and sunlight is often restricted, privacy from neighbours and external activity can be reduced and access to open space can be limited."

But Christopher Davies, of the Knowle Community party, said the area was in danger of missing out on an investment worth £150m.

He said the shopping centre was at risk of being closed, and Knowle being left with nothing but a derelict site.

"Any other developers appear to be interested only in building flats without any retail or community units and the whole area will decline and have very few essential services," Mr Davies said.

A spokesperson for Broadside Holdings Ltd said: "We were disappointed with the outcome, as we sought to bring forward proposals for a once in a generation opportunity to redevelop a failing shopping centre, which no longer serves the needs of the Knowle community.

"In line with Bristol's goals, the proposals focussed upon much needed new homes on a complex brownfield site in a sustainable location.

"Notwithstanding the outcome, we have taken many positives away from the meeting and over the next few weeks we will review our next steps."

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