This is the still-smouldering scene
This is the still-smouldering scene of a major fire at a former metalworks in Bristol that was set ablaze on Saturday afternoon, and left local residents asking questions about their safety and the plans for the site.
The site on Coronation Road in Ashton Gate has been earmarked for redevelopment for at least seven years. But on Saturday afternoon, fire crews battled to put out a huge fire in the riverside buildings that were once a hive of industry. It had been set ablaze – allegedly by a group of youths who were spotted running away from the scene.
Residents living nearby reported that the plumes of thick black smoke ‘smelled awful’, and now questions are being asked about what exactly was ablaze at the site known as the ‘Former Payne’s Shipyard’.
Fire crews were called at around 4.50pm on Saturday, just as a Bristol City match was ending at nearby Ashton Gate Stadium. Six fire appliances rushed to the scene, and firefighters donned breathing apparatus to tackle the flames.
One local resident reported that concrete blocks at the entrance of the site on Coronation Road – initially to prevent access by van dwellers or travellers – had hindered the fire crews from getting quickly into the site.
The scene and after a major fire on Corronation Road in Bristol, Sunday 5 October 2025, where fire crews were called to a proerty formerly used as a metal workshop(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The former metalworks, called Bristol Metal Spraying & Protective Coatings Ltd, closed in October 2020. In 2019, planning permission was sought by developers for what was planned then to be a luxury residential riverside development. The scheme is to have 154 flats, many with views across the river towards the Clifton Suspension Bridge beyond.
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But the development has become mired in delays. In 2021, councillors approved the scheme, which was then finally granted planning permission by officers in June 2022. Since then, there have been a number of hold-ups, most recently with concerns over the stability of the New Cut riverbank prompting a more in-depth survey this year.
The original developers decided they couldn’t go forward with the project, so sold the site to Sovereign Housing Association, which is now taking it forward as an affordable housing development.
But the decades that the site was in use as a metal-working business has also caused delays. In 2023, Bristol Live reported that initial surveys had found the presence of a long list of potentially poisonous heavy metals on the site, and the land would have to be completely decontaminated before any building work could start.
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The survey report was released and reported ‘significant elevations of metals within the ground have been encountered on the site. Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium III, Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc were all found to be elevated above Generic Assessment Criteria for residential usage’
There were concerns that even the act of decontamination could cause some heavy metals to leach or run into the River Avon, and that could potentially cause an environmental catastrophe. Last year, planning officers approved amended plans that included a stipulation that an agreed decontamination strategy be put in place.
The scene and after a major fire on Corronation Road in Bristol, Sunday 5 October 2025, where fire crews were called to a proerty formerly used as a metal workshop. (Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
Saturday’s fire appears to have gutted the empty canteen of the former Bristol Metal Spraying buildings on the riverfront.
Fire crews said the cause of the blaze was deliberate. Vaughan Jenkins, area manager for Avon Fire Service said: “We received a call at 4.50pm on Saturday to reports of a fire at a disused metal workshop and factory building in Coronation Road.
“Due to the nature of the call we dispatched a number of appliances to the incident and at the height of the call out we had six fire engines.
“The fire was extinguished using 45mm high pressure jets and breathing apparatus. Police saw a number of youths running away from the scene.”