Wake up and smell the coffee. Filwood is a fantastic place to live!

Filwood is an area in the South of Bristol and in recent years, millions of pounds of investment has started pouring into the area, changing the fortunes of the people who live there. Many locals are enthusiastic to see so many positive changes. 

Article published: 28/05/2026 

Filwood Broadway is on the up 

£14.5 million will be invested into Filwood Broadway to transform the neglected high street. The money is from the government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF), which aims to help “restore people’s pride in the places which they live”. 

Filwood Community Centre’s £10m refit

Filwood Community Centre was built in 1938 for £17,000. It remains in use today but is currently undergoing a £10 million refit. Due to re-opened in Autumn 2026. The centre will become home to a bigger Filwood Library and a new theatre for live music, shows and events.  

The Filwood Centre has been serving the community since 1938 and will continue to do so with weekly activities and special events arranged by its creative director and team.

Filwood is the centre of a supermarket love triangle 

Filwood is almost equidistant between Asda, Tesco and Aldi. In recent years, M&S Foods has decided to get involved, opening up on Imperial Retail Park alongside well-known stores; Gregs, Costa Coffee, B&M, The Range, TKMax, B&Q, Mountain Warehouse and Pets at Home.

Bristol City FC's new Sports & Education Hub at Filwood Fields

At the heart of the plans is a new purpose-built hub, which will serve as a base for the Robins Foundation and a new clubhouse for Mendip Broadwalk Football Club. The facility will include modern changing rooms, an indoor sports hall, education classrooms, a conference space, and flexible community areas including a café, bar and function room.

Alongside the indoor facilities, the plans outline a comprehensive upgrade to the outdoor space. This includes new and improved grass pitches, two artificial grass pitches, a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA), a MUSCO mini pitch, a Cruyff Court, and dedicated children’s play areas.

Wake up and smell freshly roasted coffee in Filwood

On days when the wind is blowing in the right direction, you are able to smell Oddkin Coffee being roasted in their unit on Hengrove Way. Fancy learning how to make the perfect brew? They offer masterclasses, bookable through their website.

Filwood has a T-Rex statue on top of a shipping container

Local, Ben Maddocks, installed a 10-foot dinosaur sculpture in his front garden because he wanted to “give people something to smile about".  [https://www.bristolworld.com/news/bristol-man-installs-giant-dinosaur-sculpture-in-front-garden-4511264] 

Filwood’s Northern Slopes have some of the best panoramic views of Bristol.

From the Northern Slopes, Filwood residents have views of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and there is no better place in Bristol to enjoy seeing hot air balloons fly overhead. Sometimes they fly so low over the top of Filwood that their baskets hit the local primary school’s roof. 

Filwood is the Green Lung of Bristol

If you look at Filwood on Google Maps , you will see it probably contains more green space than any other developed part of Bristol. Local residents also have larger average gardens since Filwood was designed and built based on Garden City principles during the 1930s which meant houses were spaced out rather than packed in terraces, every house was given a significant plot of land, intended for families to grow their own food and for children to play in the fresh air and the layout incorporated wide tree-lined boulevards and public parks to ensure residents were always near nature.

Filwood is a hub of artistic creativity and filmmaking 

Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) is a community hub, digital manufacturing space, and neighbourhood living lab rooted in Filwood. 

It’s a hub for social action, creativity and everyday innovation, bringing people together to make positive change feel possible in their own lives and communities.  If that’s not enough, Filwood is 5 minutes drive from the BottlesYard Studios where The Outlaws (BBC/Amazon), Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC), Rivals (Disney+), A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (BBC) were all made.

Filwood’s new state-of-the-art secondary school opens soon

The new school on  Daventry road, will provide 900 places for young people aged 11 to 16 in South Bristol. https://www.bristolworld.com/education/first-look-at-new-bristol-secondary-school-as-work-progresses-after-years-of-delay-5490229 

Filwood prioritises new homes for local people

Local residents working with the Knowle West Alliance Housing group and Bristol City Council have co-designed a new policy that will give local people on the housing waiting list a better chance of finding a home in the Filwood area. 

Under the policy, 50% of new social rent homes will be allocated to people on the HomeChoice waiting list who meet the local connection criteria. 

Filwood is leading the way in tackling the housing shortage in Bristol

New housing developments at different stages of development in Filwood:

• 34 new affordable homes on Kingswear Road. The housing will be a mix of 24 houses and 10 flats.

• Planning permission has been granted to build 71 new affordable homes on Leinster Avenue.  The housing will be a mix of: 51 houses. 20 flats with 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms

• Planning permission has been granted to build 12 new affordable, sustainable homes on Marshall Walk. The housing will feature 12 flats with 1 bedroom for single occupants. Housing will be 100% affordable.

• Planning permission has been granted to build 30 homes on the old cinema site at Filwood Broadway. It also includes nearly 600 square metres of floorspace for shops. The housing will be a mix of: 17 flats, 13 houses.

• Boklok constructed 94 new homes on Airport Road, a mix of freehold and leasehold. 

• Curo buillt 47 new homes on Broadbury Road. 25 houses and 22 flats and maisonettes

Welcome to The Park

Located on the official border of Filwood, The Park is another modern community centre with gym and sports hall, supporting and training learners to gain qualifications, skills and confidence to help them towards the world of work. Accessible services from special education, speech therapy and nursery provision, to a cookery school, gym, sports, fitness classes and conference rooms.

A new shopping and leisure destination next door

On the edge of Filwood is Broadwalk shopping centre, due to be demolished to make way for the Redcatch Quarter, a new shopping and leisure destination with 500+ homes. The plans involve a small supermarket, community space, pharmacy, dental surgery, and relocation of Knowle library. 

Neighbouring one of the best-run parks in Bristol

Redcatch Park on the edge of Filwood has to be one of the best run parks in Bristol with it’s cafe, events, tennis courts and activities such as the a local hot air balloon Launch. 

Visit the Aviva Arena for £2.60 from Filwood

The M1 Metro Bus stops at Filwood Broadway and cost just £2.60 to go to the city centre in under 25 minutes or you can stay on, stopping at UWE, The Aviva Arena (opens 2028) or go all the way to Cribbs Causeway for the same price. 

Filwood is a 15-minute cycle ride to Bristol city centre

Follow the Filwood Greenway cycle route connecting Hengrove, Filwood and Victoria Park to Bristol city centre. 

Filwood is environmentally business-friendly

Filwood Green Business Park opened in 2015, and has been successfully attracting Bristol’s most environmentally friendly small and medium sized businesses and start-ups.

Filwood is 20 minutes from Bristol Airport

Filwood is just a 20-minute bus journey to Bristol airport on the A4 Bus service, where you could bag yourself a bargain Ryanair or Easyjet flight to pretty much anywhere in Europe.

Filwood residents like healthy green living

Community gardens like Belfast Walk and Springfield allotments promote green and healthy living.

Win yourself a local award, a blue plaque or get a road named after you

If you do good in your community, you might just find yourself up for an award. So many heroes and community champions, such as Mike Alden (British Empire Medal) and Paul Coyne (High Sheriff's Award). Blue plaques have been awared to recognise services to the area.

Filwood homes are eligible for energy-efficiency upgrades 

The Bright Green Homes project will fund and support eligible households to install a range of insulation and low-carbon technologies, including:

• Cavity Wall Insulation

• Loft Insulation

• Air Source Heat Pump

• Solar PV and Battery Storage

• Window & Door Replacements (Upgrades from single glazing to double glazing only)

• Ventilation Upgrades

• Electric Storage Heaters

A £7m specialist sixth-form has opened in Filwood

The building is an extension to the existing Knowle DGE specialist school on Leinster Avenue in Filwood, which currently has 160 pupils aged five to 19. The new block offers traditional and vocational courses for up to 40 students and includes two independent living units.

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/new-specialist-sixth-form-centre-opens-in-bristol/

• Filwood primary schools rated Good by Ofsted

• Filwood has many playgrounds for young children.

• Filwood is a 10-minute drive to the countryside

• Walking distance to a hospital and a leisure centre

• Learn boxing, baking and candlestick making (probably)

Filwood has many sports clubs and social groups to join and make new friends.