Prices in the new development, known as Catherine’s Yard, start at £190,000 for a one-bed flat
Flats in what used to be the UK’s saddest shopping centre are now being sold(Image: Bristol Live)
The first flats on the former site of ‘Britain’s saddest shopping centre’ have gone on sale. The group of fourteen apartments are located in converted empty shops in the old St Catherine’s Place shopping centre between East Street and Dalby Avenue in Bedminster.
Prices in the new development, known as Catherine’s Yard, start at £190,000 for a one-bed flat, according to a Rightmove listing. The listing, from Ocean estate agents, says the apartments feature open-plan layouts with plenty of natural light, along with “generously sized bedrooms enhanced by exceptional ceiling heights”.
The apartments will be ready for occupation in autumn this year, an Ocean spokesperson said. Advertising on the Catherine’s Yard website leans heavily on some of the area’s fancier amenities. It touts the development’s location on the doorstep of “thriving East Street”, and its proximity to upmarket cafes such as Sweven Coffee and Bristol Loaf along with premium bars and restaurants such as Cor and KASK Wine Bar.
Developers Firmstone also has planning permission to build a total of 180 new flats in separate buildings on land around the former shopping precinct, where the last shop closed in June 2023.
However, there has been no progress on construction of that development, with plans thought to be on hold. Firmstone was contacted for comment around future plans for the site.
The apartments are all open-plan(Image: Ocean Property Services)
The apartments feature large bedrooms with high ceilings(Image: Ocean Property Services)
Pictures taken by Bristol Live on August 1 showed a large amount of work was still taking place at Catherine’s Yard. It is understood the vast majority of construction on the first fourteen flats is now complete. More flats, on what used to be the western side of the shopping centre, will be built at a later date.
St Catherine’s Place was formerly home to an independent florist and café, along with outlets such as Shoezone and The Works, but it closed for good in 2023 after years of decline. Since the centre closed, it has been mostly empty apart from the Bedminster Library of Things, which has been run by Share Bristol since 2024 out of the former Shoezone shop by the shopping centre’s East Street entrance.
Despite a large amount of building work being captured in this photo, taken August 1, construction of the first phase of apartments is nearly complete(Image: Bristol Live)
East Street has long been the lightning rod of an ongoing debate about the economic benefits of regeneration versus the perils of gentrification in South Bristol. In 2023, a government task force said work was needed to make sure new developments taking advantage of the neighbourhood’s vibrant reputation, as well as its convenient location near the centre and Wapping Wharf, did not leave existing residents behind.
Developers have recently also submitted plans to turn the building which used to house The Assembly, one of South Bristol’s largest pubs, into a shared house for up to 16 people.
Catherine’s Yard is part of the controversial Bedminster Green redevelopment project, which comprises five large proposed developments around Dalby Avenue and Malago Road, south of East Street. In December 2024, Bristol City Council terminated an agreement with developer Dandara to develop some of the land earmarked for the project.
Council leader Tony Dyer said BCC were going to ‘explore alternative delivery options for the land’ after uproar from residents about the potential amount of green space which would be lost. By the time the project is completed, it could be responsible for adding over 2,000 new homes to Bedminster.