Plans to transform the former St Christopher’s School site in Westbury Park into an ‘eco retirement village’ and leisure hub have been recommended for refusal. Planning officers said the £85m proposals for the five-acre site, which borders Clifton Downs, would be 'unacceptable in terms of design', and have advised Bristol City Council to turn down the application when it meets to make the final decision next Wednesday (May 31).
Last year investment firm FORE Partnership and care operator Amicala, which acquired the site following the school’s closure in 2020, submitted plans for the scheme, which it said could provide around 120 extra care homes for older people.
Known as St Christopher’s Square, the project could see refurbishment of the site’s existing buildings, including the villas fronting Westbury Park and the Grade II-listed building Grace House, with the site opened to the public for the first time in years.
READ MORE: Mum bedridden for six years after catching common 'cold' from her daughter
Under the plans, residents of the retirement community and wider local area would be able to access a new leisure centre, including a café, an 'urban village hall', a wellness centre featuring a hydrotherapy pool and gym, plus activity rooms.
A planning officer’s report, published online, said the works could involve the demolition of existing buildings on the site and the erection of new blocks of flats ranging between three and five-storeys high.
The report highlighted the proposed scale of the project, adding it would be out of context with the surrounding Downs Conservation Area and the heritage buildings on the site. Planning officers also noted the work could result in the loss of “important existing trees”.
Planners added that the application for the development, which is being devised with a view to making it one of the few extra care communities in the country to operate with net-zero carbon emissions, did not demonstrate a resilience to climate change through its site layout, nor through its approach to design and construction.
According to the report, the plans have received objections form Historic England, local councillors and residents, who have voiced concerns about the impact the scheme could have on traffic and parking.
On behalf of the team behind the scheme, investor FORE Partnership, specialist operator Amicala, and development manager Socius,
Basil Demeroutis, managing partner of FORE Partnership, said the team behind the scheme, which also includes development manager Socius, said the group stood by its plans, which he said could deliver “important benefits” for the city.
Mr Demeroutis said: “Our proposal addresses the shortage of specialist accommodation in the city for older people, enabling them to live independently for longer – a priority recognised by government just last week with the creation of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. Not to mention, the wider benefit our proposal brings by freeing up under- occupied family homes in the local housing market and helping first-time buyers.
“We are ambitious with our designs in order to achieve the highest standards in sustainability, setting a new standard for the city and the wider care sector when it comes to low carbon, socially impactful design, construction, and operation.
“Beyond that, this is a significant opportunity to open a location that has been gated for decades, and to breathe new life into a deteriorating heritage building on an otherwise derelict site. A chance to deeply integrate community use, creating new opportunities, facilities, and open green spaces for local residents and the wider city – the benefits of which we can already start to see with the socially-driven community initiatives we have delivered to date.”
The planning application was submitted in December, following a public consultation that lasted several months, with the companies saying “significant changes” had been made to the plans, including a reduction in height of some of the buildings.
Under the revised plans the tallest element of the proposals had been moved to the centre of the site, while other buildings had been moved away from the site boundary to minimise the impact of the development on existing neighbouring properties.
READ MORE
Airport parking chaos costs food trader as cars left in A38 lay-by
