Filwood Broadway's Future
Our community vision:
"Restore Filwood to its former glory and showcase the creative vibrant community that lives here. Make a neighbourhood in which locals and visitors can thrive."
Where are the proposed changes?
£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”.
What does Bristol City Council say?
“local centres are essential to the vitality of the city, the diversity of its shopping provision and social inclusion, helping to reduce car dependency by providing services close to homes.” - Bristol Core Strategy 2011
"Involve local people in decision-making on changes in their neighbourhood" - See KWRF Investment principles
[19.01.2023] See update from Councillor Tom Renhard, Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes
"The big news this week [19.01.23] is the major funding we’ve secured from government following a bid to the national Levelling Up Fund. The £14.5 million we’ve secured will go a long way towards bringing new homes to the area whilst introducing better quality public realm (£2.1 million), investment in community centre (£7.6 million), creating space for improvements to local library services (£3 million), new business and commercial space, new sporting facilities, and delivering a greener and more attractive environment. This will enable us to add to the 2,563 new homes which were built in Bristol last year, including more affordable new homes than for any year in the last twelve. The benefit to cost ratio of our successful Levelling Up bid will mean a positive impact worth more than £45 million for this part of south Bristol in local employment, social value, health benefits, and cultural amenity.
The announcement comes as another major step is taken on this path with the approval of plans to build 30 new homes on the site of the former Filwood cinema on the Broadway. The approval given by the council’s Development Control Committee yesterday (Wednesday 18 January 2023), means that we now have the green light to press ahead with bringing much needed social housing and also includes nearly 600 square metres of floorspace for shops."
Read the full blog: https://thebristolmayor.com/2023/01/19/filwood-broadway
The 6 areas of investment:
1. Former Filwood Cinema Mixed Use Development
2. re:CREATE Filwood Public Realm
3. Filwood Active Communities Scheme – new Multi Use Games Area
4. Filwood Community Centre Expansion and Refurbishment, including a new Filwood Library
5. Westside Development (4-16 Filwood Broadway)
6. High Street Delivery Plan and Improvements
a. Signage
b. High Street Recovery Funding Project
c. LUF Project Management
How will the money be spent?
Budgets updated as of December 2023 to reflect engagement around the future location of Filwood Library and expanded scope of the commercial improvement scheme.
The council is bringing this site, together with land behind the high street, forward for a new development of 30 affordable homes – with work due to start in late spring 2024.
The LUF investment will develop two ground floor units on the Broadway to include a larger retail unit suitable for a small supermarket alongside a smaller retail unit. Previously the LUF funded scheme was expecting to provide a new library, but following further engagement this is now expected to form part of the revitalised Filwood Community Centre project (another LUF project explained in more detail below).
LUF Investment: £153,010. Council Funding: £230,000. End date: March 2025
Community workshops have been held over the past year to come up with ways to improve the underused street and draw more footfall to the Broadway.
The vision is to make it an “attractive and welcoming place to visit, shop and spend time”.
Anyone is welcome to join the group for future meetings. Email FBWG at Filwood21@aol.com
LUF: £2,156,918. Council funding: £1,490,000 End date: March 2025.
The planned redevelopment of the old swimming pool site on the Broadway for 29 homes means a popular Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) would be lost.
Following community pressure – a new MUGA is planned for Filwood Playing Fields with funding also covering new floodlighting and improvements to facilities.
LUF: £350,000. Bristol City Council: £300,000. End date: July 2024
The iconic Filwood Community Centre facing the Broadway will become a new cultural hub drawing both local and wider audiences, alongside new provision for Filwood Library.
Over half the Levelling Up investment will go to revitalise the building – with plans to develop the centre into a “highly visible pillar of the community”. Architects Hayhurst and Co. have recently been appointed to bring forward this project with the council and Community In Partnership Knowle West, and to work with other stakeholders and the wider local community. As yet, a decision has not been made as to what happens to the current library building, next to Christ the King Church, which is not included in the LUF funded work.
LUF: £10,053,000 (approx.) S106: £24,653
The parade of properties from 4 -16 Filwood Broadway, which includes the re:work building and The Matthew Tree Project is in need of refurbishment – with two of the shopfronts permanently closed and housing in disrepair. A draft options appraisal for 4-16 Filwood Broadway has been produced by a multi-disciplinary design team led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. The council is considering the options presented based on initial estimates of carbon, cost, quality of accommodation, and overall number of homes and commercial space. An update to stakeholders is expected to be issued following the elections in 2024.
LUF: £600,000
The bid proposed to invest in a commercial improvement scheme to revitalise the parade of shopfronts on the east side of Filwood Broadway – where businesses including re:store, the Sandwich Stop and Badham Pharmacy are located.
Bristol City Council officers have expanded the scope of this project to not purely be improvements to the shop fronts but to also help develop local businesses and be part of a wider economic strategy for the high street that is also linked to culture, food, and sustainability. The project leads are setting up a working group with local interested stakeholders and residents, to include Knowle West Media Centre and Knowle West Alliance.
LUF: £380,000
a. Signage LUF: £150,000
b. High Street Recovery Funding Project
This project has involved the relocation, refurbishment and expansion of Filwood Broadway Children’s Play Park which has been moved across to the west side of the green and increased in size.
The new play area was completed in November 2023 and caters for toddlers and older children up to 12 years. It includes new equipment, seats and planting. Pupils from School of Christ the King have been involved in the project and their ideas have been used in the final design.
The funding also supported a calendar of seasonal cultural events until September run by Filwood Community Centre and Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) – with outdoor creative pop-up events and performances
Increased funding and contingency for Projects 3/4/5/6
LUF: £418,000 (approx.)
LUF Project Management and events
LUF: £275,000 (approx)
For the latest updates visit the dedicated website: Transforming Filwood Broadway [https://www.ask.bristol.gov.uk/hub-page/transforming-filwood-broadway]
How did we get here?
2009 Knowle West Regeneration Framework published - Download Report
2011 Brief for Filwood Broadway Framework Commissioned
2012 Filwood Broadway Framework Final Report published - Download Report
2019 Bristol Council publish housing development proposals on Filwood Broadway. Download Report
2019 £1.35m regeneration fund money is earmarked for Filwood Broadway for street infrastructure i.e. Highways improvements, road layout, cycle way separation, paving, benches, possibly electric vehicle recharging.
2021 The Filwood Broadway Working Group was set up to influence these proposals.
2021 High Streets including Filwood Broadway are selected for the focus of support for a Bristol Recovery Fund. Filwood Broadway is set to benefit from £140k share of the funding.
2021/22 Filwood Broadway community consultations
2022 reCREATE Filwood report published - Download Report
2022 (July) Better Collaboration workshop with Bristol City Council - Download Report
2022 (July) Council bid for government "Levelling Up" fund - Read more
2023 (Jan) Filwood Broadway Public Realm Steering Group launched.
2023 (Jan) Filwood Broadway awarded £14,536,470 Levelling Up Fund.
2023 (coming soon) Filwood Broadway Framework 2012 refreshed for 2023.
Starting in 2021, Locally-led Filwood Broadway Working Group have been working with the Create Streets Foundation and Bristol City Council to develop a vision for Filwood Broadway. Now we have two design options for how the public realm could be improved to make it a better place to be in:
Option A - Filwood Superblock
Option B - Filwood Rambla
The following interventions have the broad support of the wider community:
1) Pedestrianise Barnstaple Road
2) Preserve the cinema
3) Introduce pedestrian priority zones
4) Create an open-air gallery
5) Create more space for people
6) Plant street trees at regular intervals
7) Place parking on the street
8) Encourage outdoor dining
9) Improve shopfronts
10) Use textured paving
11) Make temporary use of spaces
January 2023
Concept Design
Following on from these two visions a Concept Design has been created by Bristol City Council's City Design Group. Please note there are many factors that may influence the final design such as changes to the old cinema and swimming pool sites and future library development.
The development of public realm design is a complex process involving many Quality Assurance parties, such as; the Council’s technical teams, legal requirements and statutory processes, particularly in relation to Road Safety and Traffic Regulation Orders, and ongoing maintenance considerations.
It also involves consultation with external stakeholder groups such as West of England Centre for Inclusive Living (WECIL), Bristol Walking Alliance and Bristol Cycling Campaign, the Emergency Services, as well as the ongoing more local consultation. Choices will need to be made not just on how the final scheme will look, but also to keep the works within the available budget.
All of these may influence the final design.
January 2023
Formation of Steering Group for the Public realm improvements
Bristol City Council has funding to undertake major public realm improvements to Filwood Broadway to raise its profile and bring new life and activity to the high street. Locally-led Filwood Broadway Working Group (FBWG) bid for funding from the charity the Create Streets Foundation to help develop a community-led vision for these public realm improvements. Their RECREATE FILWOOD report suggested two different design options for the high street.
Feedback on the two design options was gained through a BCC online survey, at Filwood market and through FBWG meetings. The design options were considered by local residents and BCC officers in more detail at the third co-design workshop in July 2022. This led to an agreed concept for the high street, which combined the best aspects of both design options and started to look at how it might work on the ground.
Subject to funding, it is anticipated that the public realm works will include:
changes to the roads, with some road closures, reduced parking and traffic movements
better cycling routes
more tree and shrub planting;
an improved play area
a better crossing to Creswicke Rd
more social spaces that businesses can use
better provision for the market and outdoor events
The design concept will be developed by BCC City Design Group. This process will be guided by a steering group including local community representatives. There will be wider community engagement as the design work progresses in winter/ spring 2023.
March 2023
North End of Filwood Broadway Public Realm
Filwood Broadway Working Group members have worked with Council officers at three meetings of the Steering Group this year to agree how to change the roads, pavements, and park in the north end of Filwood Broadway.
This document shows several options numbered 4 to 7A. Option 4 (see below) has been selected for detailed design work.The main changes are:
Move the playpark to the other side and make it big enough to fill that side, with lots of new structures.
Close Barnstaple Road in front of the Community Centre to cars.
Close the road between the cinema and the old convent to cars, and pave this area, allowing two way traffic on the other side of the road.
Paved area for events and market stalls
The detailed design work will take about two months, when the Council will bring them to the Steering Group again.
There will also be further discussions about where to put benches, dog bins, cycle racks, trees, hedges, planters etc.
If you have any comments or questions, do get in touch with Filwood Broadway Working Group or with your local councillors.
Development news from The Knowledge (May 2023)
This information is supplied by Bristol City Council, put together by KWA & The Knowledge Teams. It is included in The Knowledge that is delivered free to local residents.
Old cinema site, former garage and land behind Filwood Broadway
Developer: Bristol City Council (BCC) - Housing Revenue Account (HRA)
Approval to demolish the building was given in June 2019 following a planning application for 30 affordable homes with community and commercial space on the site. Planning application documents can be found here.
[12.12.22] Update from Councillor Tom Renhard, Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes
"We are grateful to residents who shared their views in the public consultation in December 2019 which looked through the draft design options. A second round of public consultation is now closed. The first phase of this work included removing asbestos on site and preparing the required structural works.
The planning application is for the creation of 30 dwellings comprising of ten one-bedroom units, eleven two-bedroom units, and nine three-bedroom units. In total there will be 17 flats and 13 houses, connected to a communal ground source heat pump system. This development will deliver as much social rent accommodation as possible, supported by an element of shared ownership housing where necessary to make the scheme viable.
We know that successful placemaking is key to the long-term success of our high streets and local centres – harnessing continued investment in new homes, to repair and reinvigorate existing neighbourhoods, strengthening physical connections between areas, creating vibrant, resilient and healthy communities. This is why the application proposes 595 square metres of flexible community and commercial floor space for shops, cafes, and the possible relocation of the public library.
The development will also include a new public space facing onto the Broadway and new trees and planting. There will be vehicle access from both Filwood Broadway and Barnstaple Road, along the new residential street. Pedestrian and cycle access will only be available from Hartcliffe Road. This work will help support a thriving community, ensuring that for local trips, walking and cycling become the most convenient option, and for trips further afield, public transport becomes a viable option. Public and private spaces will be clearly defined, accessible, well managed and safe.
The application for this was submitted in July this year and we expect a decision in the coming months. If planning permission is granted, we expect construction to commence in February 2024. More details about this regeneration work can be found on our website."
Published 12.12.22 on https://thebristolmayor.com/2022/12/12/new-homes-for-filwood-broadway/
All planning applications can be found via Bristol City Council planning portal: www.pa.bristol.gov.uk
To find out more about progress in the area and the role of the Knowle West Regeneration Framework visit:
www.bristol.gov.uk/housing/knowle-west-regeneration-framework.