Flats revamp of police station gets go-ahead

PLANS have been approved to redevelop a police station in Bristol with 104 new flats opposite a music venue.

The Guinness Partnership now has planning permission to knock down the police station on Trinity Road in the Old Market area of the city and build a huge social housing scheme, with a smaller police station below.

Bristol City Council voted to grant permission, after hearing concerns about the scheme, including the impact on the nearby Trinity Centre music venue, although architects have designed the apartments to be protected from noise.

Councillors on the development control committee voted unanimously to approve the new social housing.

Craig McDonald, from the Guinness Partnership, said: “During the project’s evolution, the scheme has seen continuous improvement which we believe has culminated in a high quality proposal. The site is located close to the Trinity Centre, an important cultural venue for the city.

“We feel we’ve designed a scheme that will protect our residents and the centre from potential noise issues in future. At the centre’s request, we’ve taken further measures recently, including moving bedrooms to the rear of the building.”

Emma Harvey, chief executive of the Trinity Centre, said the flats needed to be properly insulated to prevent any future noise complaints. She added that many tenants in social housing would be unable to easily move to different accommodation, if they found the flats too noisy with the music venue nearby.