The changing face of Broadmead

The vast Debenhams building, with its zig zag tower of escalators overlooking Broadmead, stands shut down and boarded up.

Metal sheets now cover the doors and windows of the once-bustling department store that served Bristol shoppers for decades; its future unknown until a sale to prospective buyers is confirmed.

Plans for the landmark building in the city centre are likely to remain under wraps until the new year, but Marvin Rees recently indicated plans for the property might include a mix of retail, residential and ‘destination’ businesses.

The mayor said a mixed-use such as that described for the site is what is needed to survive – and he’s not alone in this belief, with the manager of Broadmead business improvement district (BID) keen to see the existing city centre offering increased and diversified.

Developers are already eyeing up “significant redevelopment opportunities” in the area. AEW Core Property Fund snapped up a number of units along the Horsefair early in 2021 and has outlined a long-term vision for a “mixed-use environment” that might include offices, residential or alternative uses.

Broadmead BID manager Vivienne Kennedy says: “We would like to see developments that complement the area, help to animate the space, increase the existing offer, and build inclusivity.

“Utilising some currently vacant smaller units could broaden the diversity of ownership, while encouraging all communities to see Bristol Shopping Quarter as welcoming and vibrant, somewhere everyone wants to be.”

Around the back of the former Debenhams store, just along from its metal-shrouded windows on Bond Street, the bold lettering of a sandwich board marks the entrance to the newly-opened Art Club, an independent enterprise featuring a number of local businesses.

Debenhams in Broadmead stands empty and boarded up – photo by Ellie Pipe

Francis Reilly, of Coffee & Vinyl, opened Art Club on Bond Street three weeks ago – photo by Ellie Pipe

Inside, behind the counter of Coffee & Vinyl, Francis Reilly, is busy mixing a mango and lime cake. He opened the doors to the new business in a former e-scooter shop three weeks ago and believes it is independents who will revive the city centre high street.

“Art Club is a manifestation of a group of independents,” says Francis, who wants to bring the art and creativity for which Bristol is renowned into the city centre shopping district more traditionally dominated by chain stores.

“It was kind of the reason we took the plunge,” Francis tells Bristol24/7.

“Because there is no creativity in Broadmead. If you want to have a grey, dull atmosphere then keep it that way, but Bristol isn’t dull; we need to bring more colour to Broadmead through things like this.”

Events happening in Art Club this week are written on a chalk board just by the main entrance and a few people are browsing the art and clothes for sale, while others are relaxing with a coffee or fresh juice. Already home to a café, juice bar, photography and recording studio, the plan is to build on the initial success of the independent collective to attract more businesses.

“We’re hoping when the bus pulls up here on Bond Street that in a few years time, it will be people coming just for Art Club,” adds Francis.

Art Club is a new collective of independents that has opened on Bond Street – photo by Ellie Pipe

The venue is just a stone’s throw from the Bear Pit, a sunken roundabout that the founder of Incredible Edible recently accused the council of leaving to “rack and ruin” since it took back control of the site in 2018.

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Read more: Charity claims Bearpit ‘has been left to rack and ruin’

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To the other side of Bond Street lies Marks & Spencer on The Horsefair, which is set to close its doors for good after more than 70 years, and The Arcade of independents, where a few vacant units indicate the struggles the high street is facing.

On the flip side, Vivienne says nine new businesses have opened in the Broadmead area in the last month alone and she remains optimistic for the future of the shopping quarter even though people will now have to head out of the centre for their Percy Pigs.

Dan Willis of Clothing Xchange believes independents are the future of the high street – photo by Ellie Pipe

One such newcomer is Clothing Xchange, which has opened in the former Ann Summers store just a few doors down from M&S.

Retail assistant Dan Willis believes independents and businesses with a focus on sustainability are the future for the high street.

“Our whole ethos is ditching fast fashion,” says Dan, explaining that Clothing Xchange launched its first shop in Bristol, selling second hand high-end and designer clothes.

“People are starting to accept second-hand clothes a bit more, which is great and I think we are going to start seeing more things like this in places like Broadmead in the future. It would be great to see something like this in every major city.”

Over in Quakers Friars, independents such as Fig1 and Prior are claiming space in an area once dominated by high-end retail giants. A sign, perhaps, of the future of Bristol’s city centre shopping district.

Prior is one of a growing number of independents to open in the city centre – photo by Ellie Pipe

Main photo by Ellie Pipe

Read more: ‘M&S closure should be a wake up call that city centres need our support’

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