As many as 800 new homes could be built by knocking down one of South Bristol’s biggest shopping centres and transforming it into a new ‘community hub’.
Developers have unveiled their new plans for the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle, and say they will be putting in a planning application in the spring.
There is already a planning permission in place to demolish the car park and snooker hall at the rear of the shopping centre, which would see 420 new homes built there - but now the developers have returned with even bigger proposals.
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Earlier this month, Bristol Live revealed the developers had announced the Broadwalk name would be dropped and changed to ‘Redcatch Quarter’ as part of the new plans, and now the developers behind the project have unveiled exactly what the scale of the fresh plans would be.
Everything in the area between Redcatch Park, Wells Road and the Broad Walk road junction would be levelled, and an entirely new development would be built, featuring a small supermarket, shops, homes and a new pedestrianised street connecting Wells Road to a new entrance into Redcatch Park itself.
The Redcatch Development Partnership said they are hoping to transform the ‘tired’ Broadwalk Shopping Centre into a ‘community hub’. They said the £150 million proposals would be the ‘biggest investment in Knowle in a generation’.
“We are determined to bring forward this scheme that contributes to the local community and ensures that the next 50 years sees a fantastic heart to Knowle,” said Francis Hilton, the project manager for the Redcatch Quarter scheme.
At an online presentation on Thursday night, more than 300 questions were asked by the public. The developers said they would create a project website with all the plans on it, and banners will be going up around the Broadwalk Shopping Centre area to explain more.
At the meeting on Thursday night, the developers indicated a similarity between their proposals for Knowle and the Wapping Wharf development next to Bristol’s Harbourside, which has flats either side of a pedestrianised street lined with smaller shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
The architect said what had changed from 2019 - when planning permission was granted for a partial regeneration of the shopping centre and 420 new homes to be built - and today was the Covid pandemic. It had changed shopping habits, and drastically reduced the number of people visiting Broadwalk, he said.
“We want the Redcatch Quarter to be an attractive place for people to enjoy and cherish. I don’t think anyone would agree that the Broadwalk Shopping Centre is an attractive building.
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“It was built in the 1970s when we were all encouraged to use our cars and the enclosed building has no respect for the fabric of the city,” he said.
The developers told local residents that some of the stores in the shopping centre wanted to stay as part of the new development, but others wanted to leave. The library and dentists, which are currently based within the shopping centre, would be found new homes in the new development.
At the moment, Broadwalk has a number of well-known large chain stores, including B&M Bargains, Poundland and Iceland, but which of those, if any, would be part of a new ‘Wapping Wharf-style’ shopping and residential area is unknown.
If granted permission, work on the development could start as soon as next year.
“The centre will be renamed the Redcatch Quarter and feature a new pedestrianised street between Wells Road and the beautiful green space of Redcatch Park, where people can meet, shop, and relax,” a spokesperson for the developers said.
“Sustainability and encouraging people to get out of their cars is at the heart of the development, which could include an electric charging hub for residents and the wider community, a car club scheme and 1,600 secure cycle spaces,” she added.
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