News / Broadmead
Plans for hundreds of homes on former Debenhams site
The former Debenhams overlooking the Bearpit could be knocked down and replaced with hundreds of homes.
Two years after the department store closed, developers have laid out their vision to transform the site with 520 new flats planned with a new pedestrian route.
More than 100 of the homes would be ‘affordable’, meeting the minum standard set in Bristol for low-cost housing, which is 20 per cent.
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On either side of the reinstated Barr Street, there would be buildings between 9 and 12 storeys, with the upper storeys set back, mimicking the Primark building.
At the centre of the scheme, designed by AWW Architects, is a “landmark” 28-storey building described as “new northern gateway into Broadmead”.
This would face towards the Bearpit and the existing 20-storey Premier Inn Building where there is a proposal to redevelop it to 28 storeys.
The current building in Broadmead blocks access to the Bearpit – photo: Betty Woolerton
Under the plans, Barr Street would be opened up to the public – image: AWW Architects
Developers said the plans, called Barr Street Bristol, would “transform the site into a green, attractive, safe and vibrant place” with 1,420m² opened up as public open space.
Barr Street, currently built over by the 1950s retail space, would be turned into an 18 metre-wide pedestrian route connecting Bond Street and The Horsefair.
The scheme would see an increase of 50 per cent in “active frontages”, with ground floor commercial spaces proposed on the corners of the Horsefair, the roundabout frontage and along the new Barr’s Street.
One of the ground floor spaces would be made available to a new, local independent business at a discounted rent.
More than 500 new homes are planned for the Broadmead site – photo: Betty Woolerton
A new “northern gateway” into the city’s retail centre would be created – image: AWW Architects
“With extensive landscaping and tree planting this new route would become a destination in its own right with cafes and restaurants spilling onto the pedestrianised street,” a spokesperson said.
A two-storey community space is also proposed, which developers and architects suggest could be a library and or health centre.
The spokesperson added that the retail economy in the city is facing “real challenges” and the plans are part of a drive to bring more people into the city centre, as well as tackle Bristol’s continuing housing crisis.
The plans can be seen at www.barrsstreetbristol.co.uk where the public are invited to give feedback.
The team behind the proposals is also holding two consultation events on Monday: one at 12pm-4pm, outside the Debenhams store, and the other online at 6pm-7pm.
Main image: AWW Architects
Read next:
- What should happen to Bristol’s former Debenhams?
- More details revealed replacing Premier Inn
- A look at Broadmead in 2032
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