Bristol City Council submits plans to demolish 'uninhabitable' block of flats and shops for new development 💥
Plans have been submitted to demolish an old row of shops and flats in south Bristol to make way for a new development.
Bristol City Council has applied for planning permission to knock down the three-storey building at 4-16 Filwood Broadway as part of a £15m regeneration plan for the high street in Knowle West.
In its place, the council, working with London-based architects RCKa, wants to build a new four-storey building containing 18 flats with ground floor commercial and community spaces.
The application says: “The scheme will provide 18 high-quality residential homes and foster community interaction through dedicated commercial areas which respond to the new public realm improvements being delivered along the length of the Broadway.
“The mixture of one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes will be 100 per cent affordable, while commercial and community spaces are designed to encourage local businesses and social engagement.
“This redevelopment aligns with the broader goals of transforming Filwood Broadway where the goal is to transform Filwood into a creative, vibrant, and thriving area where people want to dine, shop, and play.”
The plans say the council is working to achieve vacant possession of the entire existing block, with the flats deemed “not habitable and currently vacant”.
Four of the existing ground floor commercial units were until recently occupied by Re:work, which also managed the flats, but BristolWorld revealed that the charity suddenly closed a month ago and could soon be facing a Charity Commission investigation.
The remaining units are leased to the Matthew Tree Project and Coral bookmakers.
The planned development is adjacent to the former Broadway Cinema site, where construction has begun on 30 new homes and a small supermarket.
As part of the wider regeneration of the area, Filwood Community Centre is set to close for 12 months in the new year to undergo a £10m transformation.
There are also plans to redesign the layout of the high street and to create a new multi-use games area on nearby playing fields.