It opened in March
‘Shredenhams’ will be a temporary venue, however, as the building will be demolished.(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
A new skate park in a former department store in Bristol city centre has been going “from strength to strength” since its opening last month.
‘Shredenhams’ opened their doors on March 21 to give a new lease of life to the vacant Debenhams store, which closed in 2021.
The space – which also has a café and bar and other games – has given the old Debenhams a temporary use before a redevelopment project happens.
The skatepark, created by Campus Skateboarding, has been a big success.
Millie, the General Manager of ‘Shredenhams’ said: “We have had numerous people using the space and we have had people that are coming back and lots of familiar faces that have been coming twice a week to use the skatepark.”
But Millie said: “It is more than just a skatepark. The café and bar are open to the public.
“We have got lots of other games going on. We have got ping pong tables, pin ball machines, football tables, pool tables, darts. It’s basically just a massive fun space for the whole community to use.”
(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
‘Shredenhams’ ran their first session for under 16s on April 12. They will be running another session for under 16s on Saturday May 3. This will be a monthly event and will have more events during school holidays.
The bar stocks local draft beer and is run by the people behind The Dame in Bedminster.
The cocktails use Bristol Distillery Co alcohol and there is a happy hour from 5-7pm Wednesday to Sunday.
The café also uses local coffee from Extract Coffee and from next week they are looking to open from 10am for people wanting to use the café.
The venue also contains a range of retro arcade machines.(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
“You don’t have to skate, it is a space for everyone to come and enjoy,” Millie said.
“It is an amazing thing to be able to use the space, even if it is just for the short term for something like this.
“Broadmead was crying out for some energy and somewhere to go that is cool,” she added. “There is stuff happening and there is stuff to do.
“It feels like we have got a lot of support from the community.”
The opening times for ‘Shredenhams’ is 12pm-10:30pm Wednesday to Saturday and 12pm-8pm on Sunday.
‘Shredenhams’ has opened in the former Debenhams store in Bristol.(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
‘Shredenhams’ only has a temporary lease on the building and after six-months the site is set for demolition.
In its place developers are planning to build tower blocks, the tallest of which will be 28 storeys.
The plans will provide 502 flats. A total of 100 of these will be “affordable”, broken down into 75 for social rent and 25 for shared ownership.
This marks the latest change which will affect Broadmead as different shops will be coming and going throughout 2025 and beyond.
The Galleries will eventually be demolished to make way for a new area of shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, a hotel, offices, hundreds of new homes and new student accommodation.