£7m plans to redevelop centre of Southmead

A community-led plan to redevelop the centre of Southmead has received the backing of the council and is set to receive £7m in funding.

The regeneration plan for Glencoyne Square will see the area get about 300 new homes, a new community centre for the health centre and public library to move into, and improved public spaces.

Around half of the new homes will be affordable, and the new library is expected to have better services and longer opening hours, deputy mayor Craig Cheney said as the ruling Labour administration signed off the project.

But the area will lose its youth centre as a result of the local supermarket’s plans to expand, and will lose a “modest” amount of public open space, according to a cabinet report.

Aldi has said it will close its Southmead store unless it can expand, the report said.

But its loss would jeopardise the regeneration project, so the council has agreed to sell the library and youth centre buildings to the supermarket so it can expand onto those sites.

Southmead Library on Greystoke Avenue will move into another council-owned building, Southmead House, while the community centre is being built.

But Southmead Youth Centre, which includes a private combat gym, will “need to be closed”, the report said.
The council is looking at options for replacing the youth centre but there is no funding available for this yet.

The current view from Glencoyne Square looking towards Arnside Road – photo: Martin Booth

Southmead councillor and cabinet member for housing, Helen Godwin, praised the scheme, which she said stemmed from the work of two residents five or six years ago who “essentially knocked on every single door in Southmead… and asked every single resident they could get hold of what they wanted to see in the community”.

“When so many of our high streets are really, really struggling, and especially after this year, the idea that somewhere like Southmead is getting this injection of money that will lead to real tangible improvements for every generation that lives there is really exciting,” she said.

But four out of five local shoppers spoken to by the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Tuesday were unaware of the plans, and had mixed reactions when told of them.

Fatou, whose aunt lives in the area and helps with childcare, said she was hoping that she and her young son would be able to move into one of the new homes.

Marie Misir said she thought the development would be good for Southmead, as long as there were enough facilities for young people, especially young children, to keep them out of “trouble”.

“I think it will make it look a lot better,” she said.

But a woman who did not give her name said she was worried the development would bring “rat runs” and worsening crime.

“I know people are desperate for new houses, but I don’t know why they have got to keep building areas like this that are rife with crime anyway,” she said.

The regeneration plan for Glencoyne Square could receive a £7m boost. Image: Nash Partnership

Ken Chard, 80, and John Lane, 73, who have both lived in Southmead for most of their lives, said the development would not really affect them.

Chard said he was happy with Southmead the way it was. Lane said he hoped no “riff raff” would move into the area.

A “significant” number of homes can be built where the health centre currently sits and on the “underused” land at the church site next door, according to the report.

Plans for the first 120 homes, and the new community centre at Glencoyne Square, received planning permission in May last year.

A replacement youth centre could be provided on the ‘Greystoke Strip’ next to Greystoke Avenue, in line with the masterplan, but no funding for the project has been identified yet, the report said.

Health centre staff are “keen” to move into the new community centre but the NHS cannot afford to pay anything towards the building cost so the council plans to foot the bill in the first instance and seek “compensation” and “near commercial” rates, the report said.

The plans would see 300 new homes built. Image: Nash Partnership

The development of the new community centre and the temporary relocation of the library will be funded by £7m of Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy funds, gathered from developers, after cabinet members approved the spending.

The council is negotiating with the Southmead Development Trust, which earns income by renting out space at the council-owned youth centre building, to surrender the eight remaining years it has to run on a peppercorn lease.

The trust bought the land at Glencoyne Square from the council for £1 and will develop it with Radian and United Communities housing associations.

The trust and two housing associations are expected to apply for a significant grant for affordable housing from the council and Homes England.

Amanda Cameron is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.

Main image: Southmead Development Trust

Read more: ‘Most significant step in 50 years’ – major Southmead regeneration gets go-ahead