Bristol Arc: Plan for ‘world class’ viewing pod attraction at We The Curious dropped

A planned glass viewing pod which would have gone almost 70 metres above We The Curious in Bristol has been dropped. Arc was described as a world class glass viewing cabin offering 20-minute scenic flights above the rooftop of We The Curious.

It received planning permission last year - but after a fire led to the temporary closure of We The Curious earlier this year, both the attraction and the inventor behind the project have now said it won’t go ahead at the chosen location.

No reopening date has still been set for We The Curious with work continuing to fix significant water damage to the second floor and building systems following thefire on April 9.

Donna Speed, chief executive for We The Curious said: “As with many others, it has been a challenging few years; and with the current position that we find ourselves in, facing another unplanned period of closure following the fire, it’s given us cause to pause and reflect on our plans for the next few years.

“Right now, we need to focus on our charitable mission and aims and getting our beautiful venue reinstated and open. This, together with remaining present for our audience during this period of closure need to be a top priority, and is a huge task for our hard-working teams.

“Sadly, this means we’re simply not in a place where we can accommodate any extra risk; so with that in mind, we’ve decided not to pursue the project with Arc at this time.”

Inventor of Arc, Nick Stubbs, added: “Since we started developing a fabulous plan of how we would work together to display the science behind the city from close above, We The Curious has had the wholly unexpected and very difficult challenge of a fire following hard on the heels of Covid.

“We want them to get back to their first-class celebration of the world of science and know this is not the time to distract them.”

He added: “We were greatly encouraged that Bristol councillors at the planning committee voted unanimously to support Arc at We The Curious. We will just have to be patient until we find the right location.”