Hundreds of flats have been approved marking the start of a major regeneration of an area behind Cabot Circus. Developers now have planning permission to build 350 flats as well as student accommodation on two adjacent industrial sites in St Jude’s.

Over the next few years St Jude’s will be regenerated, with warehouses replaced with swanky apartments and the River Frome opened up with new riverside parks. The neighbourhood is already home to some housing, as well as music venues, but soon thousands more will move in.

Bristol City Council hopes the Frome Gateway regeneration project will help tackle the housing crisis, providing new homes close to the city centre. Councillors on planning committee A voted unanimously to approve two separate but neighbouring schemes on Wednesday, December 17.

How the Crown Sawmills development would look | Platform/LDRS

placeholder image — How the Crown Sawmills development would look | Platform/LDRS

The first application is on the Crown Sawmills timber yard, between Pennywell Road and the River Frome. A fifth of the 352 homes will be affordable. The flats will be spread across four blocks, with the tallest reaching 20 storeys in height.

Matt Wilcock, development director at Platform, said: “We’re really pleased to be investing in the Frome Gateway area. It’s a vital regeneration site for Bristol. Benefits will include 1,300 construction jobs, 50 permanent jobs, a new riverside park, a new road, a new cycleway, £2 million in [community infrastructure levy] money, and £1 million per annum in council tax.”

The area is currently industrial, with large warehouses used for storage. But the Frome Gateway regeneration project will change this to a residential area instead, with upgraded walking and cycling routes and parks along the riverside. A new bridge over the Frome could also be built.

Hadie Abido, who runs the nearby Jam Jar music venue, said: “We’re really excited to see this scheme come forward. I’ve lived and worked in the area for 12 years and it has our full support. I’m also pleased that the developers have been supportive of our current operations, allowing us to run meanwhile events on the site.”

A chief concern is flooding. Ground floors of the buildings wouldn’t be used as accommodation, but for storing things like bicycles and bins. And safe access would be provided above the ground floor, in the event of a serious flood. But councillors were still worried about people getting trapped.

Green Councillor Serena Ralston said: “To me it seems this is still a key safety risk and the Environment Agency hasn’t quite signed it off. I can’t help thinking about what happened in Valencia last year, where such spaces were used in a flood situation, and people sadly lost their lives.

Where the Crown Sawmills development is planned | Platform/LDRS

“We have to be very clear on this safety risk and that we’re not just rubber-stamping that in 50 years we might get questioned on, and quite rightly scrutinised. As we all know with climate change, flood risk is going to increase. There’s going to be a heightened danger.”

But this part of the Frome isn’t susceptible to flash floods, so residents would in theory be given several hours warning if a flood was predicted, although there is no guarantee of this. Aside from the flooding concerns, councillors praised the new riverside park, kickstarting the regeneration, and the inclusion of 35 flats which will be accessible to people using wheelchairs.

The second application was for a block of student flats with 360 beds on the adjacent Alide Hire Service site. This will include a community space for the local Albaseera Bristol Masjid mosque. Dandara, the developer, is also planning to build a new riverside garden open to the public. The student flats will reach a maximum height of 12 storeys, with a roof garden included too.

Mo Ismail, representing the mosque, said: “Many Muslims live around St Jude’s and we need more space for our growing community. The developer Dandara has kindly offered to include a dedicated space for us inside the new building. This is exactly what the Frome Gateway regeneration was meant to do — help local communities benefit directly.”

The existing building on the site, on Little George Street, would be demolished. This was previously used by a business which hired out industrial equipment. Overall, the Frome Gateway regeneration is expected to include 500 student beds, so this scheme will already deliver almost three quarters of the total.

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