![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0_TCBR140425RooftopBRI.jpg\")
The current view of Bristol Cathedral from the corner of the Floating Harbour by the Arnolfini, over the roof of the V-Shed.(Image: Conversation PR)<\/p>\nBristol City Council’s planning committee voted in favour<\/p>\n
15:25, 01 May 2025Updated 15:26, 01 May 2025<\/p>\n
The current view of Bristol Cathedral from the corner of the Floating Harbour by the Arnolfini, over the roof of the V-Shed.(Image: Conversation PR)<\/p>\n
Plans for a rooftop bar in the Harbourside have been approved unanimously by Bristol city councillors.<\/p>\n
The development management committee granted permission after a U-turn by planning officers<\/a> who told the V-Shed\u2019s owners just two weeks ago that they were likely to recommend refusal<\/a> amid concerns from heritage bodies about the impact on views of Bristol Cathedral.<\/p>\n Councillors decided this would be minimal<\/a> and that not only could people get a better sight just yards away from one small section in front of the Arnolfini on Narrow Quay where it would be partially blocked, it would be great from the rooftop, where customers at V-Shed Wetherspoon, Ritorno Lounge and Coyote Ugly could go.<\/p>\n Cllr Fabian Breckels (Labour<\/a>, St George Troopers Hill) told the meeting: \u201cIt\u2019s an excellent idea, we\u2019re going to get some great views.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to attract people, we need to generate revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cThe impact on the views of the cathedral is minimal \u2013 it\u2019s a view from one spot, and the benefits far outweigh the harm.<\/p>\n Sign up to receive daily news updates and breaking news alerts straight to your inbox for free<\/strong> here <\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a fantastic place for a summer drink or a bite to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n Cllr Caroline Gooch (Lib Dem, Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze) said: \u201cI find some of Historic England\u2019s reasoning a bit inconsistent because they were quite happy to put a tower block in between Christmas Steps and Totterdown houses and spoil that view.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a view [of the cathedral] that you have to be over a certain height to see anyway, and you can just walk a little way and see a better view.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a great addition to the Harbourside and boost the economy, and people will enjoy going there.\u201d<\/p>\n Cllr Guy Poultney (Green, Cotham) said: \u201cI was slightly concerned at the idea that public benefit could simply be economic growth and that would be enough to overcome the heritage objection.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was not a precedent I would be happy to set and I want to make very clear that my support for this scheme applies largely to the fact that this is a nighttime economy venue and the nighttime economy is in very serious trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cAll members of this committee will remember occasions where we were desperately trying to refuse something in order to save a pub that we believed was viable but where there were huge arguments to say that it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThe heritage harm is fairly minimal.\u201d<\/p>\n Cllr Richard Eddy (Conservative, Bishopsworth) said: \u201cBack at the agenda meeting a couple of weeks ago it looked as if officers were minded to recommend refusal.<\/p>\n \u201cThat perplexed me and I thought it was really odd.<\/p>\n \u201cMy memory went back several years ago to when members overturned at committee the proposed recommendation for refusal and approved the Bristol Arc which was the glazed canister which would be viewing the Harbourside.<\/p>\n \u201cWe deemed the alleged heritage harm to be utterly bogus and minimal if it existed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Bristolians and visitors could view the surrounding heritage assets from this roof terrace, that would be a vast improvement.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly will endorse this, fully and without reservation.\u201d<\/p>\n Cllr Lisa Stone (Green, Windmill Hill) said: \u201cThis would benefit the business community. \u201cHowever, whether or not it actually benefits the public is not really likely because you have to buy a drink or a meal to gain those views from the rooftop.\u201d<\/p>\n She asked whether the committee could add a condition so that access could be free to everyone.<\/p>\n Bristol City Council<\/a> deputy head of planning Jonathan Dymond, who recommended giving the go-ahead, said that under planning guidance, the benefits did not have to be visible or accessible to the public to be classed as genuine public benefits.<\/p>\n Cllr Eddy said he hoped the applicants, V-Shed owners Padmanor Investments, ignored Cllr Stone\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cFrankly the job of the hospitality sector is difficult enough without Nimbys turning up on a roof terrace and sitting there gassing and not buying a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n Ward Cllr Patrick McAllister<\/a> (Green, Hotwells & Harbourside) said: \u201cMembers will be aware of how the nighttime and leisure economy in our city is struggling.<\/p>\n \u201cCreating a destination venue like the V-Shed can only be to the benefit of this vitally important social and economic sector.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a landmark that attracts people to our waterfront, spending in the local economy and meeting a latent demand that is clearly evident from the public support for the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cOpening up the rooftop to public access would create new views of several Bristol heritage assets and points of interest, from a far superior vantage point than ground level.\u201d<\/p>\n Thirty residents wrote in support of the application, with two against.<\/p>\n There were also objections from Historic England and the council\u2019s conservation and urban design officers, while the authority\u2019s economic development and sustainability teams were in support.<\/p>\n Try BristolLive Premium for FREE without intrusive ads and brilliant new features<\/p>\n No intrusive adverts, pop-ups or distractions! 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More info here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bristol City Council’s planning committee voted in favour 15:25, 01 May 2025Updated 15:26, 01 May 2025 The current…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[14343,381,3893,748,527,14486,393,4884,14144,800,20078,33622,528,11518,12717,285,10298,16,15,11386],"class_list":{"0":"post-66011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bishopsworth","9":"tag-bristol","10":"tag-bristol-city-council","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-conservative-party","13":"tag-cotham","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-green-party","17":"tag-harbourside","18":"tag-henleaze","19":"tag-hotwells","20":"tag-labour-party","21":"tag-liberal-democrats","22":"tag-planning","23":"tag-politics","24":"tag-st-george","25":"tag-uk","26":"tag-united-kingdom","27":"tag-westbury-on-trym"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114433307693924387","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}