Government considering intervening on Broadwalk Shopping Centre
It comes after Bristol City Council controversially approved plans for 850 homes
The government says its considering getting involved with plans to knock down Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle.
Developers want to demolish the site in South Bristol and create hundreds of apartments, but it is a very controversial scheme.
Bristol City Council's Planning Committee initially rejected the idea back in May, before then reversing its own decision during a meeting in July which was expected to be routine.
That led a councillor to resign from the committee, sparked a legal challenge from opponents and now a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has told Greatest Hits Radio that they have ordered proceedings be paused, while Planning Minister's consider intervening.
The plans
The Developer's idea is to knock down the shopping centre and build 850 apartments in its stead on the site off Wells Road.
Some of the buildings could be as high as 12 storeys, with the development also set to include a dental surgery, a cinema and a theatre community space.
Opponents agree Broadwalk needs updating, but argue 850 homes is too many for the site and would make living there miserable.
"We just think the buildings are too tall, there's too much residential accommodation and not enough shops," said Laura Chapman, a co leader of the campaign against the plans.
"It's not necessarily, 'don't tear Broadwalk down because we love Broadwalk as it is at the moment,' it's definitely not that.
"It's just let's do this properly.
"Lets do this in a way that we'll be proud when it's finished being built."
Back when the decision was reversed, a spokesperson for Bristol's Labour group, which runs Bristol City Council, said that having seen "new information" councillors believed the project should be supported.
“The development is a £200 million investment in Knowle, providing space for thirty businesses, a new dentist and library, a new pedestrianised high street, and 800 new, low-carbon homes on brownfield land," they said.
"Statements from the developers and three different housing associations, committing to bolster the number of affordable homes in the development, tipped the balance in favour of the application.
“The only solution to Bristol’s housing crisis in the long term is to get more homes built; a regeneration project providing 800 new homes, as well as a new lease of life for a town centre and 580 new jobs, has much to commend."
The backlash
As already referenced, Green councillor Ed Plowden resigned from the Planning Committee following the approval of the Broadwalk plans, calling the actions of the wider committee "misleading and dishonourable" and saying he could no longer support them.
As well as the plans themselves being unpopular among some, the manner in which they were approved was also considered, by some, to be suspect.
Members of the public were told they would not need to attend the meeting as it was only set to ratify the original refusal, only for councillors to them reverse their decision instead.
Such was the anger, a petition was created afterwards saying Bristolians have lost confidence in the city's planning system, which to date it has been signed nearly 2,700 times and a campaign group co led by Laura Chapman has raised more than £7,500 for a legal challenge against the decision.
It is in that context that the government is considering intervening.