Wetherspoons granted permission to open pub on proudly independent street

After years of trying, one of the UK’s largest pub groups has finally been granted permission to open a pub on one of Bristol’s most proudly independent thoroughfares.

Despite almost 250 objections to the plans, JD Wetherspoon could soon be opening a pub on Gloucester Road.

Objections included the scale of the proposed pub, noise pollution, public safety, the impact on adjacent businesses, and the impact to neighbouring properties and to the character of the local area.

349-343 Gloucester Road is a former shop that has been vacant for around 15 years, with a pub on the site hoping to create around 50 full- and part-time jobs.

Speaking at a meeting of the development control committee at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon, Jamie Piper from JD Wetherspoon said that the chain’s plans “will bring back into use a building which has remained vacant for many years and which as well as detracting from the street scene, in no way contributes to the vitality or viability of Bishopston centre (sic)”.

Piper said that “it should be noted that due to the size of the unit and the level of investment required to bring it back into use, it is inevitable that only a company of a certain size would take this building on”.

JD Wetherspoon hope to create an outdoor roof terrace area at the new pub – photo: Martin Booth

Emma Edwards, a Green Party councillor for Bishopston & Ashley Down, told the meeting that “there is a big strong feeling” about this planning application among many local residents, with noise of particular concern.

“There’s not a lot of love for this proposal from the local area,” Edwards said.

This application for the site is the third submitted by Wetherspoon since 2017, with Bristol City Council senior planning officer, David Macfadyen, saying that “it has been quite a journey to get to this point”.

He stressed to councillors that the application had to be considered simply as a pub rather than as a pub run by a business with the reputation of Wetherspoon.

What the Wetherspoons on Gloucester Road could look like – image: JD Wetherspoon

Chair of the development control committee, Richard Eddy from the Conservative Party, was one of the councillors who voted in favour of the application, as did Labour vice-chair, Don Alexander.

Green Party councillor Tom Hathway said that it was “unfortunate” that the committee was not able to take into account what he called “the very chequered reputation” of Wetherspoons, but he supported the application.

Lib Dem Andrew Varney also voted in favour of the application, saying that he noted the high number of objections but most “were not of material consideration”.

When it came to the vote, all councillors voted in favour of granting JD Wetherspoon permission to open the pub, other than Labour councillor for Horfield, Philippa Hulme, who abstained.

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Wetherspoons keep pushing to open pub on Gloucester Road