The entire High Street shopping precinct of one part of Bristol is up for sale – and is being marketed as a development opportunity that could see 100 new homes built there instead.
The long leasehold of the shops on the A4 at Brislington Hill is being sold with a guide price of £1.6 million, sparking uncertainty among the 20 shops and businesses that range from takeaways and cafes to beauticians, a baker and a large charity shop.
Whoever buys the centre of Brislington could simply keep renting out the shops – there are currently only three empty premises out of 20 – but agents Alder King are telling prospective buyers that the whole of the 1970s retail parade could be knocked down and redeveloped with a new street of shops and businesses but with as many as 100 flats above and behind.
Bristol City Council owns the freehold and sold leases for the two areas of the shops – they are separated by the alleyway down the middle – that expire in 2095 and 2097, although Alder King said a new, longer lease could be negotiated with the council.
The only part of the entire area not up for sale is Gilton House, the over-60s council block of flats above the southern end of the precinct – that will remain owned by Bristol City Council.
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The sale is creating uncertainty for the owners of the 17 shops and businesses on the precinct. Alder King has told prospective buyers of the entire street that the average lease for each unit is less than two and a half years, so in the medium term, if an ‘asset management strategy to deliver vacant possession’ is established. This would essentially mean not renewing leases for the shopkeepers and not finding new businesses when any are left empty, to gradually run down the entire shopping precinct over the course of several years.
“The current use, in our view, due to the condition and layout of the existing accommodation does not provide a viable retail offering in the current market with the site being underutilised,” said a spokesperson for Alder King. “Looking at alternative uses, a residential feasibility study was undertaken by Alec French in March 2023, which detailed a potential scheme showing 96 apartments across four blocks with eight ground floor retail units fronting Bath Road.
“This demonstrates the potential of the site with further density possible, considering the housing shortfall within Bristol and newly reviewed housing delivery targets,” they added.
“Subject to planning, the site represents a medium-term redevelopment opportunity subject to addressing an extension to the remaining 70 year long leasehold interest and establishing an asset management strategy to deliver vacant possession, subject to the existing lease agreements,” they added.
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