Redevelopment plans recommended for approval

Plans to redevelop and extend two Bristol buildings, including the site of a well-known nightclub, into a residential-led mixed-use scheme have been recommended for approval despite opposition. The original committee meeting to rule on the application was postponed in March as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.Applicant The Old Bottle Works is seeking listed building consent and planning permission to convert and extend 6 Upper York Street, the location of the Lakota nightspot, and the grade II-listed former Coroner’s Court, together with the construction of a new four-storey building, to create 46 residential units, business space and cycle storage.A landscaping scheme is also proposed within the existing hard surfaced yard/car park to form a communal garden, which will include a children’s play area. Of the homes proposed, 20 per cent are offered as affordable housing.A substantial number of comments have been received from members of the public in relation to both applications, these comments predominantly object to the applications on the grounds of the loss of the nightclub use at the site.A report to be scrutinised by councillors this week at a virtual meeting highlights that the site is allocated for residential-led redevelopment within the Bristol Central Area Plan, meaning the loss of the nightclub is acceptable in principle.The report is largely the same as the one recommending approval in March, but includes further public comment on the scheme, information about improved accessibility within the newbuild element and details of the CIL expected from the development.Members have been asked to use their own judgement to decide whether they believe the club is a cultural and community facility which should be protected.However, officers recommend that even if the nightclub was considered such a facility, the positive weight in favour of approving the planning application attracted by the development fulfilling the Bristol Central Area Plan’s site allocation would act to outweigh the loss of the nightclub.Officers are said to hold concerns as to the lack of family-sized homes proposed, while the quality of amenity offered by a minority of the proposed homes is compromised, albeit because of the constraints of converting a grade II-listed building and a locally listed building.The applications are recommended for approval subject to conditions, with the provision of new homes, a listed building being brought back into use and the employment associated with the scheme cited in support of the recommendation.Officers consider that the benefits of the scheme outweigh the negative elements.