Features / Bristicles
Photos: Whiteladies Road’s empty shops
is needed now More than ever
Whiteladies Road and Blackboy Hill have been home to a vast array of shops, restaurants and cafes over the years, and the fast-paced, ever-changing face of Bristol’s commercial scene means empty shop fronts have never been an uncommon sight. Over the last few months, however, many of the units on Whiteladies have been deserted, with Shop To Let signs springing up left, right and centre.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, according to Ken Simpson of Winning Whiteladies, who says the empty units are signs of regeneration rather than neglect, as many of them are in the process of being refitted and let out to new owners.
“If you compare [Whiteladies Road] to East Street in Bedminster, The Mall in Broadmead or The Mall at Cribbs Causeway I feel that we have a very low number of empty units. The legal process takes an exceptionally long time on commercial properties, which is why some of the units have been empty for so long,” he explains.
Plans are said to be underway to refit the large double unit at 174 (once a Kwik Save and a Co-op) as a hardware store, as well as the conversion of the old Santander branch and the former kitchen studio opposite River Cottage.
For more information, visit www.winningwhiteladies.co.uk.
Photos by Colin Moody