Planning row over notorious South Bristol pub converted into hostel for students

The pub was originally known as the Talbot Inn, on the corner of the Wells Road and Talbot Road. The building’s owner, Annie Wong, belatedly applied for planning permission to convert the building into short-term accommodation, but keeping a small part of the front as a pub.

The hostel will be marketed towards Chinese tourists and students awaiting accommodation. The changes have already taken place, so the application is retrospective. But a local councillor said the building could never be used as a pub ever again, because of the recent conversion.

The pub has been closed since 2022. The building was formerly home to a Chinese restaurant called the Old Cathay, and then Charlie’s Bar which had a chequered history. In 2018 a man in his sixties broke his ribs during a pub quiz after getting punched from behind, knocked from his seat and attacked again.

Then in 2021 a licensing committee heard how the pub was a “disaster”, with a spate of violence and Covid breaches. Councillors heard about a stabbing and somebody “getting their teeth kicked in”. The latest changes to become a hostel, with a small pub at the front of the building, were finally approved by the planning committee A on Wednesday, January 28.

Green Councillor Toby Wells, representing Knowle, said: “It has caused quite a lot of controversy in the local area. The development has substantially been completed. The works were carried out without any consent in place at all and the application was only submitted after intervention by the planning enforcement team.

“The works that have been completed would make it impossible to run this building as a pub ever again. Important areas of the building used to run a pub, like the storage area for the beer, the bar area and the kitchen, have all been converted into hostel accommodation. Although it’s not a formal change of use, in practice it prevents it from being used as a pub ever again.”

The planning application however showed the bar area at the front being kept as a bar, with a beer cellar and toilets for customers. There were doubts whether the area was large enough for a pub to be viable, although councillors were told the owners did not have to open the pub. They were also told they couldn’t consider the fact the changes happened without getting permission.

Green Cllr Rob Bryher, chair of the committee, said: “If you’ve got a hostel in the area, it gives people the opportunity to stay in the area for a short period of time, and that’s quite good. Initially you might think it’s a slightly strange place to put that. But more and more of Bristol is going to become part of the university universe.

“And so we probably will have more students. This is going to be marketed towards people from Asian countries who are coming to Bristol. There is sometimes a point where you don’t have your student accommodation yet, and there might be a gap that needs to be filled. This could suitably do that.”

Voting in favour were Green Cllrs Bryher, Shona Jemphrey, Serena Ralston and Ellie Freeman; Labour Cllrs Don Alexander and Kye Dudd; and Liberal Democrat Cllr Andrew Varney. Labour Cllr Katja Hornchen abstained.