Fresh plans submitted to turn former Bristol cinema and Wetherspoons into huge HMO
Fresh plans have been submitted to turn a former cinema and Wetherspoons in Bristol into a huge HMO.
Developer Landrose has applied to the government's planning inspectorate to turn the St George’s Hall building into 9 Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs), totalling 42 beds, with 15 parking spaces.
It comes after a previous application to turn the derelict art deco cinema on Church Road in Redfield into 13 HMOs, again totalling 42 beds, was rejected earlier this year.
But a campaign group, Save Redfield Cinema, which wants to see the old cinema restored, is calling for the new application to be rejected too.
The group has raised the following concerns:
- concentration of HMOs in the area is too high to support this scheme.
- parking spaces appear to be too small to meet regulations.
- no consideration towards introducing additional pressure on street parking, made even more important in recent times due to the introduction of the EBLN.
- the new design makes up for removing the proposed bedsits from the ground floor by packing them in even more tightly to the floors above, and removing amenities such as the games room.
In planning documents, developer Landrose says its “ambition is to bring this derelict building back into life after years of neglect by drastically improving its external appearance and use to turn it into a vibrant pillar of the community it resides in.”
It adds: “Sustainability, neighbourhood and well-being are at the heart of our development and by putting tenants aspirations and local consultation at the heart of this scheme, we will ensure that St George's Hall is a resounding success for all concerned.”
According to planning documents, St George’s Hall was constructed in 1912 as the Electric Palace, and extended and renamed the St George’s Picture House in 1927.
It became the Granada in 1935 before closing in 1961 and being turned into a bingo hall.
In 1998, the site opened as a JD Wetherspoon pub taking up the name St Georges Hall. In 2024, it reopened as a Crafty Egg cafe/bar, before closing just a year later.