Two controversial developments that could shape two areas of Bristol for years to come are set to be approved by councillors later today at City Hall.
The first could see approval given to demolish the 50-year-old Broadwalk Shopping Centre in the heart of Knowle, and it be replaced by a new development of 813 flats in buildings up to 12-storeys high, called ‘Redcatch Quarter’.
The second development would see the Vassall Centre in Fishponds redeveloped to see 40 apartments for older people built in the first phase, and then 41 new affordable homes for families in a second phase.
Read next: Knowle 'can't cope' with scale of 'Redcatch Quarter' warn local residents
Bristol City Council’s planning committee will meet this afternoon, Wednesday, May 31, to decide on the two applications. A third proposal - to redevelop the former St Christopher’s special needs school, which was also hugely controversial - has been pulled from the meeting’s agenda and will be decided by councillors at a later date to be confirmed. Planning officers had recommended the scheme be refused.
In their reports to the committee, council planning officers have recommended that both the plans for Broadwalk Shopping Centre and for the Vassall Centre should be approved by elected councillors, but the nine councillors on the committee are the ones who make the final decisions.
The plans for Broadwalk Shopping Centre have been an ongoing saga in Knowle for the past 18 months. Developers want to completely flatten all the buildings on the Broadwalk site, including the snooker hall, bingo hall, multi-storey car park and the shopping centre itself, and build 813 new homes in a range of buildings of different heights, but mainly in three tower blocks 12 storeys high.
The development would also include a new dental surgery, a cinema/theatre community space and a new pedestrian ‘High Street’ connecting Redcatch Park to the Wells Road, lined with shops, cafes and bars.
The plans have divided the community in Knowle. Many, including the two local councillors for the area, say the proposal should be supported and approved because it’s the only plan on the table for the area, and if it’s refused, the ailing shopping centre will continue to decline and could close altogether soon.
But many other local residents, including those who have formed a community planning group, say while they support the regeneration of the Broadwalk shopping centre, the proposal is too large-scale for the area, and the schools, GPs surgeries, parking and road network won’t be able to cope with so many new homes.
There is also controversy around other aspects of the proposal, including the amount of shade that will be thrown over nearby houses from such large buildings, and the small number of ‘affordable’ homes included in the proposal.
Despite the plan not conforming with council policy on affordable homes, council officers said that, on balance, it should be approved anyway.
In Fishponds, many charities and third-sector organisations have joined with local residents to oppose the scheme - at the moment the Vassall Centre, which was built as an American military base in 1945, provides a home for many small charities, but this would be lost under the proposals.
Councillors meet at 2pm, and Bristol Live will bring you the latest decisions as they happen.
