Broadmead Shopping district must be reinvented to survive – mayor
BBroadmead ... is going to be more of a mix of retail, residential and destination – because that is what it needs to be to survive
Bristol mayor Marvin Rees
RISTOL’S mayor has spoken about the need to reinvent Broadmead so it can survive.
Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, Marvin Rees said the area was going to be more of a mix of retail, residential and destination, because that was what was needed for it to continue.
It comes after M&S announced last month it was to shut its Broadmead store in January after nearly 70 years, and following the closure in May of the Debenhams branch in the city centre.
Mr Rees told the briefing that he had a meeting earlier this week with the people who are in the process of buying the old Debenhams building in The Horsefair.
“We know we have had too much retail space in the city in the past anyway,” he said.
“Broadmead will be different. It is going to be more of a mix of retail, residential and destination – because that is what it needs to be to survive.
“When people come to talk to us, those are the conversations that we have as we reinvent Broadmead.”
Mr Rees said there were a “bunch of options” for the Debenhams building and that no firm decisions had been made.
The city mayor said his aim was to make sure the council had a cooperative relationship with the potential new owner because it would like them to be part of the solution to the challenges facing Bristol.
Earlier this month, the manager of the Bristol Shopping Quarter said, ‘Don’t give up on Broadmead.’
With the huge Debenhams store empty and M&S soon to close its flagship shop, it is seen by many as a pivotal moment for Bristol’s 1950s-built shopping district.
Construction of the sandstone Debenhams building was completed in 1957, covering a footprint of 0.953 acres.
It was designed as a department store for Jones & Co and was the largest of its kind at the time in the West of England.
Debenhams opened there in 1970s and although it closed in May this year, many of the shelves and rails had already been stripped of stock before then.
The chain collapsed into administration last year and has permanently closed its stores, but it will still trade online after Boohoo bought the brand.
According to the sales brochure, Debenhams’ lease does not expire until 2056.
However, the landlord “has an option to call for a surrender and secure vacant possession” at any point from January 31, 2022, with a three-month notice period.