News / wapping wharf
New ‘landmark’ building could provide permanent home for businesses currently in containers
Councillors are due to decide on plans to build the next phase of Wapping Wharf which would see buildings up to ten-storeys high behind M Shed.
Space would be kept in the next phase of the Wapping Wharf development for the popular restaurants, shops and other businesses that are currently located in shipping containers on Gaol Ferry Steps and Museum Street.
Umberslade has applied for planning permission to build 245 flats and 10,500 square metres of retail and commercial space at the two existing Cargo buildings and adjacent car park.
Proposals hope to “retain the successful independent spirit of the shops, restaurants and takeaways by providing an improved, permanent and better home for businesses at CARGO 1 and 2 and space for them to flourish” – image: Umberslade
The decision will be taken by Bristol City Council’s planning committee B on February 24.
A report to the planning committee set out the latest updates about the development, including how the current businesses there will be given temporary space.
The report said: “Changes to planning policy and circumstances since, including the success of the Cargo meanwhile use, have led the applicant’s team to reconsider the approach to redevelopment of this site.
“This would allow the existing Cargo development to be relocated onto the Phase Two land while Phase One is being constructed.
“When complete, the Cargo tenants would be moved back into the Phase One development, allowing Phase Two to commence.”
Father and daughter team Stuart and Esme Hatton oversee Umberslade’s development and management of Wapping Wharf – photo: Jon Craig
The Cargo buildings are home to successful restaurants such as Box-E, Lapin, Ragu and Root, with other businesses including a yoga studio, hairdressers, and dog grooming and boutique.
The development plans for Wapping Wharf North have caused controversy, with opponents including former mayor George Ferguson concerned about the disruption on existing businesses as well as the impact on views of the four historic cranes in front of the M Shed.
Council planning officers are recommending that the committee approves permission for the plans that were first unveiled in 2023 and have since been scaled back.
They said the development would provide for small and independent businesses, a quality public realm and affordable housing, which outweigh the “heritage harms” of the historic Bath-built cranes.
A ten-storey store for the Bristol Corporation Granary, built in 1888 on the site of the M Shed, was destroyed during a bombing raid in 1941 – photo: Bristol Archives
Two other plots in the wider Wapping Wharf site have already been redeveloped, with hundreds of flats built above businesses including Bookhaus, Little Victories and Junction.
This latest development would be built in two phases. The first phase would have three blocks and the second would have two blocks.
Fifty of the new homes would be affordable, and there would be spaces to park 185 cars and 600 bikes.
Writing to the council, one neighbour said: “The proposed buildings, reaching up to 10 storeys, are completely out of scale with the surrounding harbour environment and would dominate the waterfront.
“This level of height and massing would harm the historic character of the docks and reduce the prominence of key heritage features such as the Grade II listed dock cranes and M Shed, which rely on an open skyline and dockside setting to be properly appreciated.”
Trees, seating areas and gardens will line Rope Walk, with the public areas between the new buildings featuring planter boxes and places for people to sit – image: Umberslade
In planning documents, architects said that Wapping Wharf currently has “a vibrant and active ground floor (which) has created a leisure destination within the city, with the temporary shipping containers creating CARGO 1 and CARGO 2 allowing space for small independent businesses to flourish”.
“This has been very much in keeping with the independent Bristol spirit.
“The first phase of the North Plot would bring forward a landmark building which provides a permanent home for CARGO and its hugely popular restaurants in a location which benefits from unparalleled views.
“The proposals for the North Plot will complete Wapping Wharf’s position as an essential part of the public amenity space around the City Docks that is enjoyed by Bristol residents and visitors.”
The redesigned Cargo building at night next a ten-storey block of flats – image: Umberslade
Main image: Umberslade
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