‘The sooner this shopping centre is demolished, the better for all of Bristol’

It was in August 2018 I wrote a story about a snooker club being under threat from the proposed demolition of a shopping centre.

Five years later and the club and the wider centre is still under threat – with seemingly no end in sight for what is now being called the “Broadwalk scandal”.

Local campaigners were overjoyed when Bristol City Council councillors rejected plans to pull down Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle to build 850 flats and a new shopping street.

But this initial jubilation soon turned to devastation when, a month after rejecting the plans, they were approved after a u-turn by Labour councillors.

Now residents have raised more than £8,000 to launch a legal challenge against the decision, which some are calling an act of betrayal.

On top of that, the government is also reviewing whether to ‘call in’ the decision, another knock back for the developers, Redcatch Development Partnership.

Charlie Watts says Broadwalk Shopping Centre should be demolished so residents can look forward to a bright future – photo: Charlie Watts

There is no denying the proposals are divisive. Many residents feel it is too many homes proposed and not enough of them affordable.

This is also why councillors on the planning committee rejected them in the first place, and why their u-turn should rightfully raise eyebrows.

But something has got to be done to the shopping centre, which is now full of empty shops while some of its businesses, such as Iceland and Select Fashion, continue to do well.

I remember the centre being thriving when I was younger. Wilko, B&M Bargains and Shoe Zone. These big name brands have vacated the centre in recent years, leaving it feeling more like a ghost town.

The only reason I visit the centre now is to get a sausage roll from Greggs. This cannot carry on.

The snooker club, Snooker City, and the bingo hall, Club3000, continue to be big draws – and it makes no sense why the plans to replace the centre do not incorporate replacements for these.

Councillors have voted to replace the centre in Knowle with a development made up of 850 homes and a shopping street – Redcatch Quarter

It also makes no sense to me why the new development is being called “Redcatch Quarter”. Broadwalk has always been an affordable centre that appeals to the working-class community – and it should stay that way after it is redeveloped.

It is a shame that the Redcatch Development Partnership could not propose a development residents could get behind.

Twelve-storey flats in the centre of a residential area is just far too high. Ten per cent affordable housing is not enough.

But even so, Broadwalk cannot be allowed to decline any further. The way things are going, I fear we will end up with a boarded up centre with no future. Just look at St Catherine’s Place in Bedminster.

And look at Knowle West, where the Broadway Cinema was left to rot for 30 years, until eventually being knocked down, crushing hopes of a revitalisation.

Unlike the the 1930s cinema, however, Broadwalk, which was built in 1970s, is not nice to look at. It is a stain on the landscape, in fact.

The development would see the loss of Broadwalk’s multi-storey car park and a snooker club underneath it – photo: Charlie Watts

We cannot be left with another building in south Bristol left to decline and decline. The sooner the shopping centre is demolished, the better for all of Bristol, as we can look to a bright future.

This never-ending saga cannot go on for another five years. It needs to be replaced with plans most Knowle residents can approve of.

It is time for the developers to come back to the table with fresh proposals that the community can support. Proposals that deliver much-needed homes and retail space, with the right levels of height and affordability.

This is an opinion piece by Charlie Watts, the Knowle West Community Reporter for Bristol24/7  

Main photo: Charlie Watts 

Read next:

• Petition claims Bristol’s planning system is ‘failing’
• Soft play centre to close after ten years
• Two more shops in shopping centre to close

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: