Revised plans have been unveiled to turn the Vassall Centre in Fishponds into an accessible 'multigenerational neighbourhood' with facilities for the local community. Plans for the hub, which currently offers work and conference space to not-for-profit organisations, include 40 flats for the elderly, 41 'affordable' homes for families, a courtyard, café, nursery and gardens.
Bristol Charities, the new owners of the Vassall Centre, first unveiled transformation plans in November, with an aim to deliver affordable, high-quality homes for the elderly and families, along with accessible workspace for businesses and charities and new community facilities. This week the plans have taken a step further as images show exactly what the neighbourhood could look like.
The proposed centre will be made up of three areas, with homes for older people at one end of the site, affordable homes for families at the other, and accessible workspace, community facilities and shared, public outside space in the middle. The plans will be delivered in two phases, with new workspaces for for existing charities based at the centre coming first, and new homes and facilities second.
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Bristol Charities, which purchased the former hospital facility for soldiers last year, says designs for the development are organised around an outdoor recreational space. There will be an accessible hub for the charities currently based at the centre, including a café, nursery and gateway building with bookable community spaces, together with affordable housing for older people in need, families and smaller households.
40 one-bed and two-bed flats with their own balconies will be created around a central courtyard garden for older people, all of which "will be let at affordable rents." There will be a communal lounge and roof terrace to encourage residents to meet and help combat loneliness. This housing will also connect to the nursery building via a garden room to encourage interaction between different generations.
In addition, 41 high quality affordable homes will be created. Bristol Charities says the mix of two-bed and three-bed houses with gardens and one-bed and two-bed apartments with balconies, will be offered "for rent or low-cost shared ownership."
Sustainable materials will be used in the buildings to reduce energy consumption and fuel bills. Bristol Charities says landscaping around the site will also provide spaces for wildlife.
Fishponds residents are currently being asked to have their say on the plans. Consultation is running from May 16 to June 6, with sessions allowing local people to voice their thoughts or concerns being held at the centre and online.
Bristol Charities has already made some changes to its plans following the initial consultation. It says the larger hub building has been repositioned, and the apartment building for affordable homes reduced in size. The organisation says the buildings will range from two to three storeys, to ensure the development fits in well with the local area.
Bristol Charities says it is taking advice from a specialist accessibility consultant, to improve its current facilities. Features of the new designs include central easy-to-find shared spaces, a wide central corridor so wheelchairs can pass, and improving visibility with glazed ‘shop fronts'.
Julian Mines, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Charities, says: "We have listened carefully and our revised approach responds to the views and concerns of tenants and the local community, providing much more detail about what the proposed development will look like and how the different elements will work together."
"The redevelopment of the Vassall Centre provides an important opportunity to retain and improve on the existing services, whilst making more effective use of the site for tenants, people with disabilities, older people and families in need of affordable housing, and local residents."
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