Local businesses in Bristol have spoken out about the "sad" decision to demolish The Galleries for redevelopment. Bristol residents also reacted to the massive change set for the city centre over the next few years.
Developers outlined their proposals for The Galleries shopping centre last week after telling business owners who work there that they will have another two years until the centre closes. The full plans are yet to be made public.
Business owners now have to start considering the relocation process over the next couple of years and decide whether the find another permanent base elsewhere. The Galleries - a site spanning five acres - is set to become 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.
In pictures: Looking back at The Galleries in Bristol over the decades
Greyhound Walk, a former public house, is a protected area of the building as is also occupied mostly by independent businesses some of which have been there for decades.
Charlotte Smith, owner of The Bridal Boutique, has been in The Galleries for ten years. She has known for quite some time about the looming decision to demolish the site but was shocked at the news the centre could close in as little as two years.
Speaking to Bristol Live, she said: "We were under the impression it was going to be a five-year plan, then on Friday, the manager of the centre came round to talk to everybody in Greyhound Walk," Charlotte said. "They were telling us for the first time that we have a two-year minimum left in The Galleries.
"It could be longer but that was the first time we heard the figure of two years. I don't think I felt really shocked but I think the two years was a surprise."
While she said she was not resentful of the decision, Charlotte explained how the news of the redevelopment made her feel nostalgic, describing the The Galleries as a special place to Bristol.
She added: "My daughter, when she was a baby, we grew up in The Galleries. We used to go there a lot and we used to play in different places. There were shops like Woolworths that we liked.
"I always felt quite fondly of The Galleries. I started off as a pop-up shop and that evolved a few years later to take on a permanent lease."
She continued: "Business is the best it's ever been so it could be a shock really, but I believe that you have to go with change and I can see the other side of it. I can see the place is rundown and a lot of things don't work."
She added that she is ready to embrace change and grow the business with her daughter, Eva-Charlotte, who runs a smaller stall in The Galleries, The Little Bridal Boutique. She admitted, however, she will be sad when it will be time to leave.
"This is really going to be very sad when they flatten it, they will have to do that, and start again. A lot of really good memories and I've had a really good experience in there." She praised the staff and management of the centre over the years.
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Nail Deluxe is another veteran of the shopping centre having stood in Greyhound Walk for more than two decades. Fiona, a nail technician at the beauty salon, started coming as a client when she was 17. She said it is a bit of a concern about where the business will go.
She said: "For a long time, I'm 37 and I've been getting my nails done here since I was 17. Some of our loyal customers and clients have been coming her for more than 20 years.
"It's a bit strange having been through the pandemic our jobs were not secure anyway. We'll discuss with our manager about what their plans are because at the moment we don't know ourselves."
"I think it's really sad. You see the shops around us like Carphone Warehouse and M&S - slowly all of them are closing down and you just don't think The Galleries would be something that would be going too."
What do you think about the plans to close The Galleries? Let us know in the comments
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