Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework

A collaboration with local landowners, design experts and the community to help shape the future of Bedminster.

Location
Bedminster, Bristol
Client
Bristol City Council
Hill Group
Galliard Apsley Partnership

We worked with Bristol City Council, fellow landowners Apsley Galliard Partnership and Hill Group, and the local community to produce a regeneration framework for an area in the north east of Bedminster between East Street and St Luke’s Road.

The ambition for the area is to create a thriving neighbourhood with new homes, better cultural, community and public spaces, and new job opportunities. The regeneration framework was endorsed by Bristol City Council in 2023 and infrastructure works have begun.

Existing character

The framework area lies within the Southville Ward of Bristol. The site is predominantly flat, sitting in a bowl of lower ground between Windmill Hill to the south, Redcliffe Hill to the north, Pylle Hill to the east, and Southville to the west.

The ‘core’ zone of the framework area is mostly industrial in nature with a mix of light industrial units, offices, storage, automotive engineering, a gym, and a yoga studio. There are also educational uses such as the Learning Partnership West school and the S&B Automotive Academy.

The dominance of light industrial uses within the core zone means that activity in the area is concentrated in the daytime. The area has some trees and small incidental green spaces, but these are few and far between.

What is a regeneration framework?

A regeneration framework is a document that brings together urban planning, transport and design strategy, with inclusive and sustainable growth, in order to strategically guide change in an area.

The framework will be used in the planning process and will help to shape and determine planning applications.

Why create a regeneration framework?

By creating a regeneration framework, the council hopes to ensure that:

  • Any proposals to an area work well together.
  • Proposals are brought forward in accordance with emerging Council Planning Policies.
  • The landowners work collaboratively to transform the area based on an agreed long-term vision.
  • The priorities of the local community are embedded at the start – before designs for planning applications begin.
  • Design quality and environmental objectives are locked into future planning applications.

How is the community involved?

The project began with Action Greater Bedminster gathering views from the community to create a manifesto for the area. The Community Manifesto set out what is important to local people and businesses, and informed the development of the regeneration framework, and will help guide the future regeneration of the area.

To keep in touch with the Whitehouse Street Regeneration Area, and the regeneration of the wider area, see the East Bedminster Regeneration website

Our role

Stride Treglown is providing planning, urban design and masterplanning services, as well as acting as lead consultant to manage the design and project team. This multi-disciplinary placemaking project showcases the ability of our Place studio to seamlessly integrate multiple services for our clients.

Following community engagement, we are now developing concepts and options for the area, such as the mix of future uses, and transport and movement options. Further detail and refinement will then be added before a formal consultation on the framework later in the year.

Shape My City

In June 2021, we led a workshop on the theme of Sustainable Planning with a group of students from Design West’s Shape My City diverse talent accelerator programme. Using our Whitehouse Street Regeneration Framework project as a live canvas, we explored the voices and criteria that shape places.