They have agreed to scale-back their ‘Redcatch Quarter’ project
The new plans for Redcatch Quarter, on the site of the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle(Image: Broadside Holdings)
Developers who want to knock down South Bristol’s biggest shopping centre and build hundreds of new homes in its place are revealing their new, scaled-back detailed plans for the first time.
The owners of the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle are hosting two community drop-in sessions in a couple of weeks to show their revised plans for their ‘Redcatch Quarter’ redevelopment.
Broadside Holdings want to knock the centre down, along with the now-closed multi-storey car park and bingo hall at the back of the centre, and build almost 500 new homes there instead.
Broadside did get planning permission for more than 800 flats on the site, in controversial circumstances back in 2023, but earlier this year came to an out-of-court settlement with a local resident Laura Chapman to scale back their plans for ‘Redcatch Quarter’, after she began a judicial review against the way the council made that decision.
Broadside has cut the number of new homes proposed from 850 to 492, and significantly scaled back the plans which would have had three ten-storey tower blocks overlooking Redcatch Park, but now have a development of houses on that part of the large site instead.
The scaled-back plans also mean a large cut to the number and size of new shops and commercial premises on a new pedestrianised street through the Redcatch Quarter development, although space for a new dentists surgery and library are still included.
Laura Chapman took Bristol City Council to the courts over the way it granted planning permission for the original Redcatch Quarter plan with a crowdfunded legal action as residents with the Knowle Neighbourhood Planning Group and the Broadwalk Redevelopment Community Group clubbed together to challenge the council.
That prompted the developers to agree a compromise which has seen the scale of the development reduced in return for Ms Chapman dropping the judicial review challenge.
She said: “We’re very pleased to announce that the plans have been fleshed out and will be launched to the public. These events are being organised by the developers, not the community.”
READ MORE: Broadwalk homes plan scaled back after ‘victory’ for residentsREAD MORE: Next steps for South Bristol’s biggest shopping centre after years of controversy
The two drop-in sessions are both being held at Knowle Methodist Church, on the corner of Redcatch Road and the Wells Road, on Friday, July 11. The first takes place between 12 noon and 3pm, and the second between 4pm and 7pm.
The shopping centre site itself has been struggling recently, with the closure in full of the multi-storey car park because of structural concerns.
Bristol Live reported earlier this month that if the revised plans for ‘Redcatch Quarter’ are approved, then work to clear the site could begin as soon as the end of next year, with the transformation complete by 2030.
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