Knowle West regeneration framework

About the regeneration plans

About Knowle West

Approximately 15,000 people currently live in Knowle West, which was mostly built between the 1920s and 1950s. For many it is a great place to live and there is a strong sense of community. However it has problems, due to:

• concentrations of deprivation and poverty, mixed with
• its physical distance from employment, services and facilities in the rest of the city.

Filwood Broadway has declined and much of the built environment needs regenerating.

The Knowle West regeneration plans

Regeneration plans for Knowle West were presented at the public consultation in October and November 2010.

The council and its partners the Homes and Communities Agency and the South West of England Regional Development Agency, appointed consultants Urban Initiatives to help develop these plans.

Knowle West regeneration plans:
October 2011 update

Plans for Filwood Broadway

Consultation on the Knowle West Plan last year showed that local people wanted Filwood Broadway to be their main shopping centre.  Residents and council officers have been working together to develop plans to regenerate the Broadway as a successful place for local people.  To find out more, read below Making a better broadway: Oct 2011 consultation results.

Filwood Park proposals

Separate work is being done by the Homes and Communities Agency, the owners of Filwood Park and the Hangar site.  During November there was consultion with local people to develop proposals for these areas.  These proposals include: a high quality park, new employment space and jobs, and new homes of varying types, including affordable homes. View more information on these proposals on the Knowle West community website.

Overall plan for Knowle West

There is currently no formal decision on an overall plan for Knowle West. We will continue to work on this and plan to consult with you again early next year - dates to be announced. Please note: as total redevelopment at Inn’s Court were considered too disruptive on local residents, we have ruled out mass demolition at Inn’s Court.

Making a better Broadway:
October 2011 consultation results 

The Knowle West Plan showed that local people wanted Filwood Broadway to be their main shopping centre. The council’s City Design Group is working with residents, businesses and developers to bring big change at Filwood Broadway: to make it a successful place for local people.

During October a number of initial ideas and principles that came from local residents, were worked up and displayed in Filwood library. Feedback from this showed local people wanted a better Broadway.  Overall they wanted:

• it to be easier to get about
• key sites to be developed for a mix of uses, such as a supermarket, shops, housing and jobs
• community facilities to be refocused at Filwood Community Centre and
• to make the public space more attractive, safe and able to be maintained in the future.

View the information and ideas exhibition boards presented at consultation (pdf, 2.2 MB)

What happens next?

In November council officers and resident representatives met with key transport officers and developers to test these ideas. Following this a draft “regeneration framework” document for the Broadway will be produced for comment.

Following input from all views, a final document will be presented to councillors and the Knowle West Project Board for sign off in the New Year.  Thank you for sharing all your views and ideas to help make a better Broadway. 

Knowle West Plan:
October to November 2010 consultation

Five options were presented at the public consultation ranging from doing nothing to significant redevelopment and considered:

• the agreed community Knowle West “vision” and objectives”. See related documents.
• learnings from community involvement events (that commenced September 2009) and study tours with local people. Read ‘development of the Knowle West Plan’, related documents.

The aim was to understand local views on issues including:

• new housing
• employment
• transport
• shops
• parks
• community facilities. 

Read the ‘8 page consultation leaflet' sent to residents before the consultation to find out more. See related documents.

Key consultation results show that:

• 84% supported major change in Knowle West.
• The majority of respondents did not support significant demolition. Instead favoured infill development at Inn’s Court, by building new homes on the existing green spaces.
• There was very strong support for a new shopping centre and supermarket.

For  more details reads the consultation report. See related documents.

There is no formal decision on an overall plan for Knowle West at this stage. We will continue to work on this and plan to consult with you again early next year - dates to be announced.
Please revisit this site for updates. Thank you for sharing all your views and ideas at consultation.

Background information

Knowle West regeneration - baseline briefing

Consultants Urban Initiatives produced a baseline data report for the preparation of the Knowle West Plan - see links below to download this document. This is a factual research report so not part of the consultation. It that covers a number of key issues identified for the neighbourhood including:

• environmental controls,
• population increases,
• education and skills,
• employment opportunities.

Knowle West Regeneration Framework - baseline briefing - part 1, pages 1 to 23 (pdf, 6.1 MB).

Knowle West Regeneration Framework - baseline briefing - part 2, pages 24 to 50 (pdf, 6.1 MB).

Note: As with all information on this site, this document is protected by copyright (except where otherwise stated); all rights reserved to Bristol City Council. It is made available for personal use only and not for commercial use. Bristol City Council cannot accept responsibility for any errors, loses or omissions within the document.

Bristol Development Framework

It is expected the Knowle West Plan will be important to help achieve growth targets proposed for the regeneration of South Bristol. Targets are reflected in the Preferred Spatial Strategy Option of the Bristol Development Framework. South Bristol is proposed to provide:

• 11,000* of the 36,500* new homes planned city wide by 2026 - with 8,500* of those built after 2011.
• Up to 250,000* sq m of new office floor space and 24.5* ha of new industrial and warehousing.

*numbers not yet confirmed.

This project is being part financed by the European Community, European Regional Development Fund.