Number of homes proposed for Broadwalk Shopping Centre revealed as planning application is lodged

A total of 817 homes could be built across several blocks towering up to 12 storeys high at the site of Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle, it has emerged as a planning application was today lodged with Bristol City Council.

The proposed development - to be called the Redcatch Quarter - would also include a cinema, supermarket, restaurant, a library and dentist surgery.

The Redcatch Development Partnership say there would also be the ‘same number of shops’ as there is currently at the site. And they say the development would lead to a £150m investment into the area with more than 500 jobs created.

The planning application follows a public consultation last year. Project manager Francis Hilton said: “We want to thank everyone who participated in the consultation as your feedback has been instrumental in the progression of the proposals.

“Following valuable discussions with local people, it’s clear that we are all united in wanting a thriving, sustainable community asset that will deliver for Knowle for years to come.

“Local input has led to the introduction of the cinema, wider and more attractive pedestrian areas, a reduction in massing and redistribution of buildings, and better integration with the [Redcatch] park.’

She added: “Making the outline application is just a point on the journey and we look forward to continuing to work with the community post-submission to contribute to the revitalisation of South Bristol.”

The development would be laid out over several blocks with the heights varying from three to 12 storeys. This could prove controversial with a petition launched three years ago over previously agreed plans which had the same maximum height.

The number of homes is also more than double the number previously agreed in the last planning application, which proposed 420 homes.

But the developers are keen to point out that the scheme will also include a new neighbourhood cinema and a pedestrian high street linking Redcatch Park to Wells Road.

Flexible retail and commercial space will ‘offer a blank canvas for forward-thinking businesses to mould to their specific requirements’, they add.

If the planning application is successful, a series of more detailed propsals would be submitted to provide a final design for the scheme.