Plans to convert a former special educational needs school in Bristol into luxury retirement flats look set to be refused. St Christopher’s School in Westbury Park opened seven decades ago but developers are applying for permission to convert the site into 116 apartments.
The two-hectare site next to the Downs could soon become a retirement village, with the historic school buildings converted into extra care apartments and several new buildings constructed too. But the plans have sparked a wide range of concerns from many locals.
Problems with the plans include the loss of provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND), as well as the loss of several large mature trees which would be chopped down to make way for the new extra care apartments.
Read more: Former Westbury Park school site £85m 'eco retirement village' plans recommended for refusal
Planning officers at Bristol City Council are recommending that councillors on the development control A committee refuse permission for the St Christopher’s Square scheme on Wednesday, May 31. However, the committee could still vote to approve permission.
A spokesman for the St Christopher’s Action Network, which is campaigning against the current plans, described the scheme as "ridiculous" and "badly thought-out". He said the developers had "boasted of their eco-credentials" yet the council's sustainability officer said they had ‘refused to consider the impacts of future climate change’ within the building.
The statement continued: “Even more astonishing is that a scheme that is meant specifically for elderly people to enjoy their final years is so overcrowded and badly designed that officers say it ‘would not provide a high-quality living environment for future residents’. We believe our councillors will make the right decision for Bristol and for our community and reject these unacceptable plans.”
St Christopher’s School was a residential Steiner school which opened in 1945 and closed in March 2020, and provided 50 places for pupils with complex educational needs and disabilities. Bristol is currently facing a shortage of places for pupils with SEND, while demand is rapidly rising. Developers said they could pay a sum of money to another school to make up for the loss of provision.
Buildings on the site include five large Victorian villas, the Grade-II Listed Grace House built in 1966, and 11 other buildings. Grace House is noted as a “rare example” of a purpose-built post-war Steiner school for disabled children. There are more than 100 trees across the site, and several are protected by Tree Preservation Orders, but at least 38 trees could be felled.
The plans were put forward by FORE real estate investors, and the retirement village would be operated by Amicala and developed by Socius. 25 apartments would be built inside the converted Victorian villas along Westbury Park, and the remaining 91 apartments would be in new buildings, the tallest of which would reach five storeys.
600 objections
Grace House would be converted into a community space, including a hydro pool, exercise studio, gym, nutritionist and treatment room, a cafe, cinema or activities room, an art room and a workshop. The North House building would be converted into a small village hall, which could be used by the wider community for at least 15 hours a week.
The council received more than 600 public objections to the plans, as well as objections from local councillors, Darren Jones MP for Bristol North West, and Historic England. The concerns cover a huge range of issues, including the loss of SEND provision and the loss of trees, as well as the size of the buildings which many believe to be too large for the area.
Writing to the council, Green Councillor Christine Townsend said: “This site has been a specialist education provision for children and young people with SEND for decades. SEND is this council’s largest budget deficit year on year with much caused by the need for out-of-area provision — our children need more specialist provision, not less. If SEND provision is lost from this location now it will never return.”
Labour Cllr Kerry Bailes added: “There are simply not enough specialist school places to meet demand in Bristol, and many children are without a school placement at all. Children with disabilities desperately need financial investment in specialist schools, including residential placements for children with severe or complex needs — otherwise they end up in hospitals that aren’t adequately equipped and with staff who aren’t trained to teach them.
“Education is a right, not a privilege, a right that has already been stolen from so many children with additional needs in Bristol. Building homes on this site is not the answer, there are many other sites more suited for this development. Building housing will only wide the gap in Bristol’s SEND provision, and the ever increasing inequality children with SEND face.”
Several experts working for the council also objected to the plans, and the planning officer dealing with the application is recommending the committee refuse permission next week. In a report on the application, the planning officer said the development could “crowd and overbear” the existing historic buildings on the site.
The planning officer said: “The development would be out of scale and context with the Downs conservation area and the Grade-II Listed building Grace House. The massing of development would result in a loss of the site’s verdant character, would crowd and overbear existing buildings and create a harmful relationship between proposed buildings.
“This would fail to preserve or enhance the designated heritage assets on site, fail to contribute positively to the area’s character and identity, and fail to provide a high quality living environment for future occupiers. The application has not demonstrated that the development would be adapted to and provide resilience to climate change through its site layout, nor through its approach to design and construction.”
However, according to the developers the apartments would be “ultra-sustainable”, and net-zero carbon “in operation”. They promised to pay a sum of money to help fund SEND places in other schools elsewhere in Bristol, to make up for the loss of provision. And they hired a tree expert who disputed the classification of some large oak trees as “veteran”.
In planning documents, architects said: “The vision for St Christopher’s Square is to deliver the first of a new generation of ultra-sustainable extra care homes within an integrated retirement community. The scheme is designed to allow residents to age in place and to be supported as their needs change, while also providing a welcoming and vibrant community.
“This will be one of the most innovative senior living developments in the UK. St Christopher’s Square will be net zero carbon in operation. No fossil fuels will be used on the property. Sustainability, social impact, health and wellbeing, and local social value have been core objectives for the development since the very initial brief.”
