News / Restaurants
Outpouring of public support to save restaurant’s terrace
There has been an outpouring of public support to save a restaurant’s outside seating areas that are under threat from council bureaucrats.
“Love our terrace? We need your help,” wrote Bravas operations manager Fabia Selwood-Miller on Instagram.
“For five years, our terrace has been a place where thousands of people have shared food, drinks and memories. It’s part of Cotham Hill and part of Bravas.
is needed now More than ever
“But after recommending we made one, the council has refused our planning application and seem determined to tear it down.
“Without an enclosed terrace, it simply isn’t sustainable and at least eight jobs are at risk.”
Selwood-Miller is urging the public’s support for their new application to retain their two external seating areas; adding that Bravas’ sister restaurants Gambas and Cargo Cantina in Wapping Wharf, and Condesa on Whiteladies Road, all have year-round outside spaces and “we desperately want to save ours at Bravas”.
Sections of Cotham Hill are now completely closed to motor vehicles, with the aim of the scheme to create a pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly environment – photo: Martin Booth
Bravas has been on Cotham Hill since April 2012 and their external seating areas have been in existence since April 2021, just after the road was pedestrianised.
But their application to retain the two outside areas was refused in July, with Bristol City Council officers saying that the proposed seating arrangement “would appear incongruous to the Cotham Hill street scene and this part of the Whiteladies Road Conservation Area”.
The application was also refused as it “fails to provide adequate space for an emergency vehicles to perform their statutory duty”.
The team at Bravas are now fighting back, however, saying that their proposals “will preserve and enhance the conservation area and add vitality and viability to the area”.
Hundreds of supportive comments have already been received on the council’s planning portal ahead of the consultation period coming to a close on October 9.
One person wrote: “I’m dismayed that there is a prospect of losing these seating areas which add nothing but value to this vibrant part of Bristol.
“What better way to draw local, national and international visitors than by continuing to offer this cosmopolitan outdoor space?
“Let’s not kowtow to needless nimbyism; these necessary outdoor spaces improve the experience of diners and pedestrians on Cotham Hill alike.”
Another comment said that “having a good mix benefits the area”.
And a third said: “Leave them alone, no harm being done and they draw in people from all over the city. Outdoor eating in a city is rare, let us enjoy it.”
Bravas has been on Cotham Hill since April 2012 and their external seating areas have been in existence since April 2021, just after the road was pedestrianised – photo: Martin Booth
But not everyone is in favour of retaining the terrace. One public comment says: “I object to the use of permanent structures by hospitality businesses on Cotham Hill – particularly if they include outdoor heating and music.
“If tables and chairs are set up outside, they should be taken indoors at the end of the evening.
“Bravas has colonised both sides of the street, they keep their doors open the whole time they are open, partially blocking the pavement, have set up bar stools on the pavement which when occupied by patrons cause another obstruction, and when there is a queue for a table at Bravas you have to ask people to let you pass because the pavement is completely blocked.
“Their plant pots go over the lines delineating the seating area in front of Bravas.
“During Covid we were all behind closing Cotham Hill to traffic to allow for social distancing and now hospitality businesses on Cotham Hill seem to treat the pavements and street as their domain.
“Pavements are for people and we shouldn’t have to walk on the street in amongst scooters and bikes if don’t want to.”
Main photo: Martin Booth
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