Plans for a controversial new café on the Downs have been turned down by a Government planning inspector.
Permission for the steel and glass café at Sea Walls was granted by Bristol City Council last year.
The café would replace the old public toilets at Sea Walls, with the profits used to keep the cafe’s toilets open and free of charge for the public.
But the venture, which has been likened to putting a Starbucks in Stonehenge, needs government approval before it is built because of its location on common land.
An official request to build on the Downs was sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) back in April last year.
The Commons Act 2016 requires permission from the environment secretary before any structure is built on common land and the planning inspectorate makes such decisions on behalf of Defra.
In November the planning inspectorate officially refused consent for the work.
She cited potential harm to the local neighbourhood and the landscape, and because the alleged benefits of the cafe had not been “adequately demonstrated”.
But the Downs Committee, which is behind the plans, has said it is not the end of the line for this project.
Cllr Don Alexander, who sits on the committee, said it would be up to the Downs Committee to decide how to move forward.
“We have the right to resubmit the application or give up and do something else,” he added.
“We need to make the toilets at the Sea Wall economically sustainable.
"The current state of the toilet block is not acceptable as it is and is also costing a lot of money. Something has to be done.”
In her assessment the planning inspector noted that the current facilities are subject to “mis-use and vandalism” and the area is subject to “antisocial behaviour”.
A decision on whether to move forward with the current scheme or to withdraw it and start again will be made at a Downs Committee meeting later this month.
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