The main shopping centre in Bristol city centre is to be completely demolished and rebuilt as a new development of shops, flats, offices, bars and restaurants.
Developers outlined their proposals for The Galleries shopping centre and announced consultation events - after telling everyone who works there that they will have another two years until the centre closes and they lose their jobs.
What will replace The Galleries will be a mix of tall blocks of flats, including student flats, a hotel, offices and shops and bars in a complete transformation of a huge chunk of Bristol city centre.
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The five-acre centre is owned by LaSalle Investment Management along with the city council. They have teamed up with Bristol-based developer Deeley Freed, Savills and Arup, to ‘comprehensively redevelop’ the centre - it will be the biggest redevelopment project since the building of Cabot Circus in the 2000s.
The detailed plans have not been made public yet, but are expected to be revealed at consultation events proposed later this month in the shopping centre itself.
The centre’s owners said that footfall in The Galleries has not recovered from pre-pandemic levels - down 35 per cent from the last years of the 2010s, and with the centre seeing increasing numbers of empty shops, the future of the centre has long been in major doubt. Last autumn, Bristol Live revealed the existence of plans to redevelop The Galleries, but now it is official, with a timescale of work starting in Autumn 2024, and the new city centre being opened in 2027.
The proposals first have to get through the city council’s planning process, and a formal planning application is expected to be submitted early next year.
The lead developer is Deeley Freed. The Bristol-based developer, whose founder David Freed is this year’s Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers, has built many landmark buildings in Bristol and is currently starting to build 837 student flats in a controversial huge development as part of the Bedminster Green regeneration project.
A spokesperson for Deeley Freed said the complete redevelopment of the Galleries into something completely different was a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity.
“This is an amazing, once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a world-class, sustainable, vibrant destination, one which will help reinvigorate Bristol’s city centre, responding positively to the changing ways we now live, work and shop,” he said.
“Footfall in the centre is down 35 per cent from pre-pandemic levels. A change in shopping patterns, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has led to a greater number of vacancies in the Galleries which has made the current centre’s future increasingly challenged.
“The proposals look to create a truly mixed-use and diverse scheme with restaurants, shops, community facilities and leisure destinations that support the day and night-time economy, office space, a hotel, open market and affordable homes, and student living. It will provide a complementary balance and range of uses that support the local community, boost the economy, address Bristol’s changing needs and priorities and ensure it continues to provide something for everyone,” he added.
Redeveloping The Galleries will be just as much of a challenge as building it was back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five acre site drops down 10 metres from the top of Union Street to the middle of Broadmead, and underneath the present shopping centre is a key road through the city centre in Fairfax Street, and part of the culverted River Frome.
The entire site occupies one entire square block with Broadmead at the north, Union Street to the west, Newgate and Castle Park to the south and Merchant Street and Cabot Circus’ Quakers Friars to the east.
The developers said they want to open up the area more, with what will effectively be new streets, frontages and access. The stores that are part of that block but have their shop fronts on Broadmead won’t be affected by the redevelopment behind.
“The intention is to convert 30 per cent of this into high-quality public realm with new civic= spaces and opportunities for urban greening,” said the spokesperson for Deeley Freed. “Broadmead currently turns its back on Castle Park, which is a missed opportunity. The proposals look to reverse this along Newgate with new, vibrant pedestrian linkages into the city centre as well as terraces, with cafes and restaurants facing the park.
“We’d like to emphasise that we are at an early stage in the planning process and the Galleries will remain open as usual for at least the next two years. We’d add that the retail units and occupiers fronting onto Broadmead fall outside of the redevelopment proposals and are not part of the plans. We’d encourage people to continue to shop and support their local traders,” he added.
Staff who work for the centre, and in the stores that are based there were informed of the proposals today, Friday, July 1, and told they have two years minimum before the centre is closed down.
Vivienne Kennedy, from the Broadmead Business Improvement District team, said The Galleries, like all shopping centres, has struggled to recover from the pandemic.
“Shops and shopping centres across the country have been struggling as they try to compete against online retailers and rising living costs, while at the same time trying to bounce back from the pandemic,” she said.
“The high street is constantly evolving, always trying to meet consumer needs as they too change, and we see mixed-use developments, with much more focus on the customer experience, as an excellent way to increase footfall, vibrancy and sustainability. We’d encourage people to get involved in the consultation as it’s in all our interests to get this important opportunity right,” she added.
Three initial consultation events are being arranged. That begins with an online presentation at 6pm on Wednesday, July 13, followed by a public exhibition on the ground floor of The Galleries opposite Boswells Cafe, this will be in place from 3pm to 7pm on Thursday, July 14, and again from 10.30am to 1.30pm on Saturday, July 16.
The developers are also organising two walking tours for people to be shown what’s being proposed. These are taking place at 12pm on Thursday, July 14, and at 1.30pm on Saturday, July 16.
A website has been set up for people to find out more and leave their comments about the proposals, and to get involved in the consultation events too.
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