Work to start for new homes and ‘small supermarket’ on old Bristol cinema site

Work is set to start building new homes and a ‘small supermarket’ on the site of a former 1930s cinema in south Bristol.         

The contractor Stepnell has been appointed for the old Broadway Cinema site on Filwood Broadway in Knowle West and is due to begin work at the end of June.

It is expected to continue until the end of 2025.    

The site was the home of an art deco cinema from 1938 before it closed as a bingo hall in the early 1990s and was eventually demolished in 2023.      

Bristol City Council will create 30 affordable homes on the site with two ground floor retail units, the larger of which will be suitable for a ‘small supermarket’.  

The development will consist of flats in three/four storey buildings facing the high street and and a crescent of houses behind. These will be a mix of social rent and shared ownership homes.

The plans are part of a wider regeneration project for Filwood Broadway, which was awarded £14.5m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund in 2023. 

A new library was also initially planned for the old cinema development, replacing the existing 1960s building on the street.       

But the council says the library is now expected to be part of the regenerated Filwood Community Centre, which is set to be expanded to include theatre space, an art gallery, music studio and additional community space. 

Other regeneration projects for Filwood include a new multi-use games area on the local playing fields, to replace an existing one on an old swimming pool site which is due to be removed for housing.   

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A new playground opened on the street last year, while an expanded convenience store opened opposite the old cinema site at the start of this year.

Work to demolish the old cinema eventually started in March 2023 - despite calls to save it that saw a local campaigner occupying the building for a day.   

In its heyday the cinema seated more than 1,100 people and also hosted boxing matches and music concerts – with pop star PJ Proby performing there in 1963. 

The old cinema site development is being funded by £153,030 from the Levelling Up Fund. 

There is also £230,000 council funding, alongside approximately £13m in funding from the council's Housing Revenue Account.