Plans for 30 homes on the site of the old Filwood Broadway cinema in Knowle West have been granted permission amid anger from residents. Bristol city councillors approved the regeneration despite claims that the local authority has “lied, cheated, conspired to pull this building down”.
Development control committee members said it was “highly regrettable” that the building would be demolished, under previous consent in 2019, and that the protests about its loss came much too late, despite hearing that efforts had been made to have it protected but these were unsuccessful. The former 1930s art deco cinema was sold in the 1980s and became a bingo hall before finally closing to the public in 1994.
Once it is demolished, the council will replace it with a crescent of 17 flats and 13 houses, all of which are classed as affordable, and ground-floor commercial space for retail or community use. Several three- and four-storey buildings will be created fronting onto Filwood Broadway.
