News / bedminster
Public inquiry to be held into the rejection of St Catherine’s Place shopping centre plans
A public inquiry will be held into Bristol City Council’s decision to reject controversial plans to transform St Catherine’s Place shopping centre.
Development control committee members refused permission for the £50m rejuvenation project in Bedminster in January 2020.
More than 300 people objected to the proposals for 205 homes in five blocks ranging from three to 17 storeys, along with shops, offices and a cinema, at the run-down site in East Street.
Scaled-down plans have since been submitted but developers Firmstone are pushing ahead with an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, which will hold a four-day public inquiry from Monday, January 25, against councillors’ earlier refusal.
In its statement of case to the government inspector, Firmstone says: “The appellant will demonstrate with evidence that the proposal is acceptable. The proposal is urgently required to provide Bristol with housing delivery and economic regeneration.
St Catherine’s Place could undergo a major transformation. Photo: Qezz Gill
“It delivers a suitable balance in terms of environmental impact, future living conditions and constitutes sustainable development in an environmentally, economically and socially acceptable form.
“The proposal has been designed sensitively to respond to all appropriate environmental factors. The form of the development is sustainable both in terms of its detailed design and the modes of transport it seeks to promote.”
It says the amount of car parking and cycle storage was “environmentally responsible and appropriate”.
“The appellant will demonstrate that the application is compliant with the Bedminster Green Framework and the Development Plan for Bristol and that in all respects the proposal is acceptable,” it adds.
Councillors agreed with officers’ recommendation in January that the development was too big, poorly designed and would have been detrimental to the existing community.
The council’s statement of case to the inspector says: “The benefits of the scheme were not considered to outweigh the adverse impacts of the appeal scheme. As such, the inspector is asked to respectfully dismiss this appeal.”
A CGI of what the area could become. Photo: Firmstone
Firmstone’s fresh plans, which will not be considered by the planning committee before the appeal, are smaller and include 180 new homes spread across three buildings up to 14 storeys tall, with some new homes in converted shop space.
The cinema has been dropped from the proposals and there are fewer new shops, while the company is promising to refurbish shop fronts in East Street and create more public open space.
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.
Main image: Firmstone
Read more: £50m redevelopment plans for St Catherine’s Place rejected
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