
In news that should come as no surprise to anyone, planning permission has been granted to demolish The Galleries in Bristol. It will see the shopping centre and multistorey car park replaced with offices, student flats, residential homes, and retail space for shops, restaurants and cafes.
Plans were approved yesterday (Wednesday, January 29) by Bristol City Council, when councillors on the Development Control B Committee voted unanimously in favour. Deeley Freed, the development team behind the proposals, now has the green light to press forward with these huge changes to Broadmead.
The Galleries opened in 1991 and was hugely popular among Brisolitans until 2008 when the recession hit and many bigger brands moved to the new Cabot Circus. It’s been in steady decline ever since but turned another dark corner with the pandemic. Footfall is down 35% in the city centre, from pre-pandemic levels, and many of The Gallerie’s shops remain empty.
It’s created an interesting time for the shopping centre – with everything from a retro arcade to a nightclub filling the vacant spaces. But it couldn’t last forever. The Galleries occupies almost 5 acres of city centre space that developers have argued could be better utilised.
“The Galleries has been struggling since well before the pandemic,” said Max Freed, director of Deeley Freed. “It’s poorly designed and car parking covers 40% of the site. It has long been obsolete. Our proposal would completely transform the site. There would still be shops and restaurants on the ground floor throughout the development, including new units facing outwards to Castle Park and Broadmead.”
A total of 450 new homes will be built, 90 of which are classed as “affordable”, while the student flats will accommodate up to 750 people. A hotel and music venue are also planned, while Newgate, which runs between The Galleries and Castle Park, will become pedestrianised. Deeley Freed claims that the new development will reduce carbon emissions by 40%, through heat networks and solar panels,
You can learn more about the development of The Galleries here.