The development firm wanting to knock down a huge shopping centre in South Bristol and build 850 flats there instead have said the ‘extraordinary costs’ of doing that mean they can’t afford to include more affordable homes for people on the council’s housing waiting list.
Broadside Holdings have outlined to Bristol Live just why they say they are unable to increase the number of flats that would be sold or rented out by a housing association in their new ‘Redcatch Quarter’ development, after the city’s head of housing said their plans were ‘simply not good enough’.
Broadside’s plan is to completely demolish the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle, as well as the multi-storey car park, snooker hall and bingo hall and level the entire site from the Wells Road to Redcatch Park. In its place they want to build 850 flats in a series of 12-storey buildings, and create a ‘new pedestrianised High Street’ that would connect the Wells Road to Redcatch Park directly, lined with bars, shops and restaurants.
Read next: Iceland 'object' to South Bristol shopping centre plans 'in strongest possible terms'
The development would also include a new dentists, community space, library and cinema/theatre. But the plans are controversial, and last month, Bristol Live revealed the cabinet member for housing at Bristol City Council, Cllr Tom Renhard, had written to Broadside Holdings to demand they do more for the community.
Cllr Renhard’s letter urged them to include a new health centre or GP surgery in the scheme, and said the provision of affordable housing was not good enough. In September 2022, Bristol Live revealed that only 55 of around 850 new homes would be classed as ‘affordable’ - just seven per cent of the total new homes - and they would all be separated into one of the blocks of flats.
The developers said 77 per cent would be let at ‘social rent’ levels through a housing association, to people on the council’s HomeChoice waiting list, while 23 per cent would be sold through a shared ownership scheme.
As part of the planning application, the developers submitted a ‘viability report’, which said that because of the extra costs involved in demolishing the existing buildings, and also providing community facilities in spaces where they could just have more new homes, they then couldn’t afford to include more affordable houses, and still maintain a 20 per cent profit margin on the entire project.
Cllr Renhard said he did have concerns over that 7 per cent figure, and described it as ‘simply not good enough’. “The severity of the housing crisis in Bristol makes it difficult for me to support proposals containing such a small amount of affordable housing, relative to the total number of homes. A development of this size, while costly, will undoubtedly bring in considerable profits – enough to raise the level of affordable housing to an acceptable rate,” he told Broadside.
But now Broadside have defended that figure, and said this is all the affordable housing provision they can afford to include, because of the huge costs in demolishing the shopping centre and the rest of the site in the first place.
“Broadwalk Shopping Centre has been in decline for years and there are now many shop units empty and other stores leaving,” a spokesperson said. “The Redcatch Quarter represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to breathe new life into the town centre and create the vibrant, bustling heart that the Knowle community deserves.
“The Redcatch Development Partnership is committed to delivering a high-quality scheme with sustainability and community at its heart, creating a place that local people can be proud of. There are extraordinary costs required to remediate this brownfield site - including the clean-up and removal of fuel tanks under the former petrol station.
"The proposed development has also been subject to the record-breaking inflation which has swept the UK, and this has significantly increased remediation and build costs. The Redcatch Development Partnership has complied with policy around the viability process and is engaged with Bristol City Council to explore opportunities to increase the level of affordable housing as the plans progress,” he added.
Read next - ‘Redcatch Quarter’, the story so far:
July 2018 - First plans unveiled for 400 new homes and revamped Broadwalk shopping centre
March 2019 - Councillors give permission to 400 new homes plan
Sep 2019 - Wilko confirms it’s leaving Broadwalk
Dec 2019 - Knowle could become Bristol's next 'hotbed of regeneration' say property experts
July 2021 - What people want for future of 'run-down' Bristol shopping centre
Jan 2022 - Broadwalk to be renamed ‘Redcatch Quarter’, announce developers
Jan 2022 - New plans to demolish Broadwalk entirely and build 800 flats unveiled
May 2022 - South Bristol MP warns of shortage of schools and GPs with 12,000 new homes
June 2022 - Developers tweak plans for ‘Redcatch Quarter’ after consultation
July 2022 - The battle for the soul of Knowle is just getting started
Sep 2022 - Only a small fraction of 850 new homes in South Bristol will be 'affordable'
Sep 2022 - 'Fearful' traders join fight against new 'Redcatch Quarter'
Jan 2023 - Broadwalk or Redcatch Quarter - huge plans divide the Knowle community
Feb 2023 - B&M to close as D-Day for Broadwalk Shopping Centre is postponed again
March 2023 - Council chief tells 'Redcatch Quarter' developers 7 per cent affordable homes 'isn't good enough'
April 2023 - Iceland 'object' to South Bristol shopping centre plans 'in strongest possible terms'
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