News / Western Harbour
Eyebrows raised over Western Harbour plans
Crowded into the Create Centre which could in the years to come be turned into flats, a group of residents discussed the future of the neighbourhood on their doorsteps which has been given the name of the Western Harbour.
That name could still be changed according to a council representative at the meeting, prompting one of the few moments of optimism.
There was not much approval of the new Western Harbour masterplan among attendees, with gripes including everything from blocked views to bad design as the Hotwells & Cliftonwood Community Association prepare their submission to the current survey which closes on Sunday.
Residents took their turn to share their concerns, although one of the youngest attendees said she was in support of the scheme and “in building as many houses as we can”.
But she was very much in the minority, with plans for between 750 and 1,200 new homes to be built no taller than the existing trio of bonded warehouses – one of which the Create Centre is located within – described by one speaker as “a fucking embarrassment”.
The ‘eyebrow’ buildings built next to main roads have come in for particular criticism – image: Bristol City Council
Particular concern was raised about the two ‘eyebrow’ buildings squeezed inside the elevated road network on the Hotwells side of the Plimsoll Bridge that is set to mostly remain the same.
These pair of buildings will be surrounded by roads at their front and back.
There was also bafflement from several attendees at the decision to build a new block on the spit of land between the Nova Scotia and Pump House pubs.
And there was dismay that a house on Avon Crescent might have to be demolished as part of the plans for the area.
The Western Harbour masterplan hopes to bring between 750 and 1,200 new homes to the area – image: Bristol City Council
A representative of Bristol City Council’s regeneration team (who Bristol24/7 has been asked to keep anonymous) said there will be no need for any new schools to be built as part of the new development as surrounding primaries including Hotwells Primary School are under-capacity and by the time the new homes are built, new secondary schools will have been constructed elsewhere in the city.
She said: “From a community and health infrastructure basis, what we’re proposing currently on the plans is that we haven’t suggested that anything on the ground floor would be homes so there would be a flex of what that can be.
“So some of that could be shops or restaurants or cafes but it also could be a community space.
“Or a GP or a healthcare trust… might come forward and say, yes there does need to be a new doctors surgery and there could be space for that.
“We haven’t pinpointed exactly where that could go but there is a message we have heard loud and clear from lots of people about health facilities in particular, and we need to work with our colleagues on that.”
The council officer also called the name Western Harbour “very much a project name”.
She said: “I don’t think there was a proposal to call it ‘Cumberland Basin’ because it wasn’t just that (area) but I think this is something we need to take back to the politicians and ask whether we want to change the name.”
Residents gathered in the Create Centre to discuss the Western Harbour masterplan – photo: Rob Browne
Responding to the council officer’s comments, one local resident said: “Not having considered where things will go sort of sums up this project for me because it seems completely ill-considered.
“Just putting tower blocks on a historic area, when you look at the planning it’s quite embarrassing.
“If you came back and looked at this project in the future after it has been built, you would say ‘who the hell just thought we’d put a bunch of towers in a row in front of these historic buildings on top of this historic harbour’.
“Those buildings have no relation to the harbour, to the community, to the local housing, to the way that these buildings (the bonded warehouses) are, to the way the houses on that side are, on that side are, or to the water where it runs.
“I looked at that (the masterplan). I so wanted it to be good. I’m a designer. It’s awful. It’s a fucking embarrassment, sorry. It’s embarrassing to have that as a proposal.”
The Western Harbour moniker still might change – image: Bristol City Council
One supporter of the plans said: “We desperately need houses of all kinds in this city… We’ve been in the sticky end of the housing crisis and building all kinds of flats and houses is what we need. I don’t think that it’s necessarily one size fits all.
“Also, we live in a flat and want a family. Some people can live in flats and have a family.
“So I’m personally very supportive of building as much housing as we possibly can frankly.
“There are obviously bits of the plan that are not perfect… but it will improve and things will get figured out.”
A section of this small ‘island’ off Merchants Road could have a block of flats built on it – photo: Martin Booth
Main image: Bristol City Council
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