It is one of Bristol's most infamous empty eyesores - but now work to demolish the old WHSmiths building in Clifton Village is finally underway.
The building, most recently used to house a temporary ice rink six years ago, is to be demolished to make way for a controversial new block of shops and cafes.
A team of scaffolders were at the site on Friday covering the building, which stands on the corner of Clifton Village's two most famous roads - Clifton Down Road and Boyce's Avenue, which leads to the Clifton Arcade.
Work to demolish the empty building, which has been stripped out inside and now appears to be a shell, is set to begin on Monday.
The derelict row of shops has been largely empty for ten years, with rows over ownership and planning applications. At Christmas in 2014, an ice rink was set up inside, but nothing has happened there since.
A year ago, in January 2020, council planners approved a new scheme to demolish the building and create a new, modern block of shops and cafes, with lots of glass frontage, proposed by the site's owners THAT Group.
Opponents of the scheme included Historic England, the Civic Society, the Conservation Advisory Panel, the Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society, and the Mall Garden's Residents Association. Chief executive of THAT Group, Peter Tisdale, told the planning committee he regretted so many of the neighbours objected, but the application had been “painstakingly put together”.
Opponents variously branded the design “inappropriate”, “insensitive” and “overbearing” and likened it to a “battleship” or “mausoleum”.
Some said it would block the daylight for neighbours on King’s Road while others said the plan to host big chain stores, such as Marks and Spencer, would threaten the livelihood of independent shops in Clifton.
But both local ward councillors supported the development, with Cllr Paula O’Rourke telling the committee the new shops were “badly needed” to “revitalise” the village centre.
