Plans for ‘luxury’ retirement scheme recommended for refusal

Plans for retirement scheme in north Bristol “would crowd and overbear existing buildings” according to objectors.

Bristol City Council planning officers have recommended proposals to build 116 ‘extra care’ homes on the former location of St Christopher’s School to be refused.

They highlight in council papers published online issues including the Westbury Park scheme’s lack of affordable housing provision, its “scale and massing” in the context of a conservation area, parking overspill, tree loss and “lack of resilience to climate change”.

Investment firm FORE Partnership and care operator Amicala want to build a apartment block and a collection of cottages ranging between three and five-storeys in height, under a project called St Christopher’s Square.

Under the plans, residents of the retirement community and wider local area would be able to access a new leisure centre, including a café, an urban village hall, a wellness centre featuring a hydrotherapy pool and gym, plus activity rooms.

Developers said that plans for the retirement community, which would be “net zero in operation”, aim to “address the shortage of specialist accommodation in Bristol for older people”.

A masterplan setting out plans to convert the historic special school into ‘luxury’ retirement flats

Planning officers are recommending that councillors on the development control A committee refuse permission for the St Christopher’s Square scheme on Wednesday, May 31. However, the committee could still vote to approve permission.

The planning officer wrote: “The proposed development would be out of scale and context with the Downs Conservation Area and the Grade II Listed building ‘Grace House’.

“The quantum and massing of development would result in a loss of the site’s verdant character, would crowd and overbear existing buildings and create a harmful relationship between proposed buildings.

“This would fail to preserve or enhance the designated heritage assets on site, fail to contribute positively to the area’s character and identity, and fail to provide a high-quality living environment for future occupiers.”

Plans were also criticised by local groups, heritage organisations Historic England and The Twentieth Century Society, and Bristol North West MP Darren Jones.

A spokesman for the St Christopher’s Action Network, which is campaigning against the current plans, said: “We are relieved officers have seen through the marketing spin and we trust that our elected councillors will robustly refuse these ridiculous plans outright. The community was clear from the start about what we thought for so many reasons.”

On behalf of the team behind the scheme, investor FORE Partnership, specialist operator Amicala, and development manager Socius, Basil Demeroutis, managing partner of FORE Partnership, said: “We have worked incredibly hard on this scheme for two years now, in close consultation with the community and other stakeholders, and we strongly believe that our plans deliver important benefits for Bristol.

“Our proposal addresses the shortage of specialist accommodation in the city for older people, enabling them to live independently for longer – a priority recognised by government just last week with the creation of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce.”

“Not to mention, the wider benefit our proposal brings by freeing up under- occupied family homes in the local housing market and helping first-time buyers.

“We are ambitious with our designs in order to achieve the highest standards in sustainability, setting a new standard for the city and the wider care sector when it comes to low carbon, socially impactful design, construction, and operation.

“Beyond that, this is a significant opportunity to open a location that has been gated for decades, and to breathe new life into a deteriorating heritage building on an otherwise derelict site.

“A chance to deeply integrate community use, creating new opportunities, facilities, and open green spaces for local residents and the wider city – the benefits of which we can already start to see with the socially-driven community initiatives we have delivered to date.”

Demeroutis added: “While we are disappointed that these benefits have not come to the fore in the officer’s report and recommendation, we stand by and remain confident in our proposal.”

“The application was submitted in December, following a public consultation that lasted several months, with the companies saying “significant changes” had been made to the plans, including a reduction in height of some of the buildings.

Councillors will meet on Wednesday, May 31, to make a final decision on the application.

All images: FORE/ Amicala/ Socius

Read next:

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• ‘Progress made’ on running of the Downs after criticism over lack of transparency
• Van dwellers argue safety concerns being used as ‘excuse’ to drive them out

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