A former bank will be turned into bedsits under new plans recently submitted. Each week Bristol City Council receives dozens of planning applications seeking permission for a whole range of developments. Over the past seven days, those applications also included hundreds of student flats in blocks up to ten storeys, repairs to a collapsed New Cut wall, fire-proof cladding at a city centre apartment block and a pub becoming a B&B.
Here’s this week’s round-up of notable planning applications submitted to the council. Every week dozens are validated by the local authority and we have selected some of the more interesting proposals..
All planning applications submitted to the council have to be validated and are available for inspection by the public. Anyone is also allowed to submit comments about the applications — whether in support or objection.
The majority of applications are decided by planning officers at the council under delegated powers. However, some will go before elected councillors who sit on planning committees.
No dates have been set for when the planning applications below will be determined. They can be viewed by going to the planning portal on Bristol City Council’s website.
Ex-bank to become bedsits
The former NatWest branch in Westbury-on-Trym High Street would be converted into a house in multiple occupation with five bedrooms. Developers want to extend the rear of the property to make the changes. The bank closed in August 2023 and has been vacant ever since.
Planning agents said: “The proposals would make a positive contribution to this section of the conservation area. There is a minor loss of back-of-house floorspace for the commercial unit, which would still remain viable and attractive to business occupiers.”
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Hundreds of student beds
A total of 358 student beds in three blocks between five and 10 storeys would be built near Temple Meads. The proposed development at 68-72 Avon Street, St Philips, was announced last month but following an early round of consultation ahead of the application being submitted this week, the designs have been altered and the number of beds reduced from 374.
The site next to Motion nightclub and the University of Bristol ’s Enterprise Campus, opening in 2026, in the Temple Quarter regeneration zone is currently a disused car garage, which would be demolished. Bristol-based developers Watkin Jones Group also wants to create 217sqm of commercial space, a gym and a coffee hub on the ground floor, along with a courtyard and rooftop terrace.
Collapsed New Cut wall repairs
A collapsed section of wall on the River Avon New Cut would be repaired. The council is asking itself whether an environmental impact assessment is needed for the 80-metre long section next to Gaol Ferry Bridge.
Planning documents said: “The wall has suffered significant loss of masonry blockwork where much of the subsequent debris is visible at the wall’s toe, having previously collapsed into the watercourse. The asset has been singled out as a priority repair for Bristol City Council due to its prominence within the River Avon New Cut and the scale of the failure.” They said the work would start next April and take ten months.
Apartment block cladding
Queen Square Apartments would have combustible cladding and balcony decking replaced with fire-resistant material. There would be no external changes to the seven-storey block, which has commercial units including Coffee #1 on the ground floor at Bell Avenue.
Planning documents said: “The presence of combustible materials has been identified within the external façades of Queen Square Apartments and therefore it is proposed to replace these with non-combustible materials. These materials need to be replaced in order to safeguard the building from the spread of fire across the external wall materials and through any associated cavities/voids.
“It is proposed that the materials used on the building will be chosen to replicate the existing look of the building, both in colour and texture. The timber decking will be replaced with an aluminium composite decking system which is noncombustible.”
Pub to add guest house
The Brewhouse and Kitchen pub on Cotham Hill wants to create a second floor to add a guest house with 18 bedrooms. Planning documents said: “The existing building, which is a long-established public house that has existed since the site was developed in the 1800s, is substantially under-used.
“There are numerous pubs in the area, and the current operator has identified a need to diversify in order to sustain, and ideally enhance, the viability of the pub use.” The triangular two-storey building is on a prominent corner.
Ten of the guest bedrooms would be on the existing first floor and another eight above.
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