Mixed scheme for neglected space is given thumbs up
PLANS for a new mixed development on a neglected brownfield site near Lawrence Hill station have been approved after several years of failed applications.
Stapleton-based architecture firm Studio Yaqub submitted the successful proposal to demolish the existing buildings at 66-70 Church Road and replace them with eight residential and two commercial units.
Redevelopment of the 574 square metre site, owned by a group of Bristol-based developers, will comprise a group of five new one, two, and threebedroom apartments along with three further two-bedroom houses.
Meanwhile, on the ground floor, two retail units will front Church Road with an additional office space. All the properties will be accessible by Dove Lane.
In response to the council’s approval Usman Yaqub, a director and fellow of CIAT of Studio Yaqub, said, “We are thrilled that this scheme has been given the seal of approval by the development committee following a detailed engagement with a range of stakeholders.
“It will undoubtedly bring highquality residential and workspaces that are in great need.”
A total of 14 objections were received in response to the first round of public consultations for the scheme, with a further seven made after the plans had been amended.
Concerns raised include the absence of any parking, with local residents claiming that the aim to make the development car-free is “unrealistic”.
However, planners have pointed out that this is in line with current local policies and note the site’s proximity to public transport routes, as well as provisions for bike storage.
Studio Yaqub claims the proposal is intentionally conscious of sustainability and includes an array of photovoltaic panels, air source heat pumps and bee boxes.
Bristol City Council records indicate that since 2015 the site has been subject to six previous applications.
The most recent of which in 2019 was refused on the grounds that the height, scale and proximity of the plans would negatively impact residents on Cowper Road with a “bleak, over dominant and overbearing” sense of enclosure.
Although they have lain derelict for many years, the buildings on the site have taken on many uses over the years, with 66 Church Road notable as being the location of one of the earliest recorded buildings in east Bristol.