‘Details needed’ on height of 1,500 new homes in front of famous view of Totterdown

More details are needed on the height of 1,500 planned new homes in front of a famous view of Totterdown, according to a recent consultation.

A major development brief, which cost taxpayers £100,000, sets out how the Mead Street area should be redeveloped. Bristol City Council has consulted local residents for their views on the huge scheme, but many have questioned the lack of detail on heights.

The 5.6-hectare area lies between the Bath Bridge roundabout and the Banana Bridge, and between the river and the railway. It’s currently home to a motorbike shop, a car rental business, and a rock climbing gym, and could soon be completely transformed with 1,500 new homes.

A six-week public consultation on the development brief asked for views on “four guiding principles”, including creating new sustainable travel routes and high-quality green spaces. But many responses raised concerns about the height of any new apartment blocks.

The Mead Street redevelopment site is set to be completely transformed – Photo: Google Earth

The development brief was produced by Stride Treglown and Mott MacDonald, and will guide and influence future developments in the area. The document cost £100,000, funded by a grant from the West of England combined authority. Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said the heights will be “determined through the planning process”, and not by the brief.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, August 2, he said: “We can assure that change in Mead Street happens consistently, building a vibrant community around joined up infrastructure and public spaces, rather than as a series of disconnected development sites. It’s great to see a positive reaction to these proposals. But we did receive comments about the potential height and density of any new buildings in the area.

“The height of the new buildings will be determined through the planning process, by whichever independent cross-party development committee the decision falls to. And remember, geographically Bristol isn’t getting any bigger.

The proposed layout for the Mead Street redevelopment scheme – Photo: Bristol City Council

“But its population is growing at speed, and this is a sustainable location which we need to maximise. We need to protect green spaces by preventing sprawl around the city, and that means building homes more densely than we have before.”

The redevelopment site will also create space for shops and cafes, 500 jobs, and a walking and cycling route along Mead Street connecting Temple Meads to Bedminster. The scheme forms part of the wider regeneration of the Temple Quarter, which includes a new university campus, high school, and thousands of homes behind Temple Meads train station.

Developers have already applied for planning permission to build apartment towers on Mead Street, raising fears among local residents that the famous view of Totterdown—the colourful houses along Richmond Street which can be seen from Temple Meads—would be blocked. The tallest proposed tower, behind the Fowlers motorbike shop, would have 22 storeys.

More than 5,000 people have now petitioned the council to “save the iconic views of Totterdown”. The petition, set up by Totterdown Residents Environmental and Social Action group, said any new buildings along Mead Street must not “obscure the panorama of the Totterdown escarpment”.

Local councillors have also called for more detail in the development brief on the height of planned buildings. Green councillor Ed Plowden, representing Windmill Hill, tweeted: “I would be very embarrassed if I had invested in a framework to guide the development of Mead Street to help all decision-makers, from architects to planning committees, and ended up with a document that did not say anything meaningful about heights—which is the most important issue.”

Alex Seabrook is a local democracy reporter for Bristol

Main photo: Shepard Robson

Read more: 1,500 homes earmarked for site near Temple Meads

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: